


No Matter How Far

by flightofmeraxes



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Eventual Smut, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-27
Updated: 2015-12-19
Packaged: 2018-05-03 13:34:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 21
Words: 66,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5292962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flightofmeraxes/pseuds/flightofmeraxes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Yennifer Trevelyan had been destined for a life as a Chantry sister, a life chosen for her by her father, Bann Trevelyan. He'd sent her of to the Conclave to get a look at the sisters she would soon be living with, and as a representative of House Trevelyan, but she did not return. The only survivor of the explosion that leveled the Temple of Sacred Ashes, and baring a mark on her hand that reacted to the resulting Breach in the Veil, she was thrust into life as the 'Herald of Andraste', a title she hated, due to being the only member of House Trevelyan with no belief in the Maker. Still, she took the job willingly, fighting to save Thedas from whatever threat caused the explosion that killed thousands, including her brother. Her life, the life she chose, began with an invitation to meet with a certain Qunari at the Storm Coast. He was strong, charismatic, funny and kind, but she knew had it not been for the Conclave explosion she would never have met him, never took a second glance had she met him under different circumstances. But now, after a long a devastating battle against a dark spawn magister with Bull as her rock, she couldn't imagine a life without him. With no more fight, they had the world at their feet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

It was over. It was finally over. Standing there in the great hall of her beloved Skyhold, Yennifer could not believe that Corypheus was dead and the world was safe. The hall was buzzing, the air loud with the hum of excited chit chat, stories of the Inquisitor, her, striking the darkspawn magister into the abyss. She made her way around the hall, speaking to her friends. First, Blackwall. Or Thom? She decided to stick with Blackwall, Thom just didn't sound right. He didn't look like a Thom. "It's finally over," he said, his eyes not meeting hers. He couldn't get used to the fact that she'd forgiven him. She knew he'd done a terrible thing, he'd lied, he'd killed people, children, but she just couldn't find it in herself to send him away, leave him to die. She was quite aware that he was getting enough punishment from his own mind, and she didn't feel it was necessary to add to that by freezing him out. "We did it, Blackwall," she smiled, "Us. You helped save the world!" Blackwall smiled a small, sad smile. "Thank you, my lady," he said quietly, "Maker knows I don't deserve your friendship, but I want you to know I will always cherish it." She laughed and patted him on the shoulder, "Enough with the doom and gloom man, celebrate, please, it would make your Inquisitor very happy." He laughed then, a genuine laugh. "Well, if you command it I can't refuse." She smiled and turned away, making her way to Cullen next. "Is it just me, or do we have a moment to breath?" the commander asked. "It's real, Cullen, but I'm finding it hard to believe myself," she replied. She made her way around the room stopping to chat with Varric, Cole, Sera, Josephine and Leliana, before going to Dorian, who was drinking alone. "You're quite the social butterfly tonight aren't you, my dear?" he said, his words slurring slightly. He held his wine goblet out to a cup bearer who filled the wine again. "I am, and you're quite the lonely drunk!" Yennifer laughed, and Dorian joined her. "Can you believe a servant hugged me tonight? And the blacksmith? Told me all us Vints aren't so bad after all. He spat when I first met him," the mage said, chugging another mouthful of wine. "OK, slow down you," Yennifer said, taking the wine from him and ignoring his protests. "And don't act like you aren't enjoying the attention, you love it really." Dorian smirked, and went to take a step, stumbled, and landed in a mess of fabulous Tevinter fashions at her feet. She pulled him up and led him out of the hall and up to his chambers. "I would have thought with all the wine you drink you'd have built up some immunity to it, but no, you're cannot hold your wine my dear friend," she laughed as she undressed him. "How many times must I tell you woman, you lack the proper parts!" Dorian yelled, kicking his legs in her face as she removed his breeches. She dropped him into his bed in nothing but his small clothes. "Sleep well, and thank you for your courage today," she whispered, planting a kiss on his forehead. She turned to leave but he grabbed her hand and pulled her back. He looked at her and gave a small smile. "Thank YOU, Yennifer," he said, "You gave me the benefit of the doubt, you helped me overcome so much. It's been an honor to fight by your side, my friend." She went to reply, to tell him it was an honor to fight with him too, but she was met with the soft snores of a sleeping altus. She pulled the covers around her best friend and tucked him in nice and tight, then made her way back down to the main hall.  
She walked up behind Bull, her love, and wrapped her arms around his neck, her head resting on his huge shoulder. "I saw you had to take the Vint to bed," Bull chuckled, "He's all talk about his drinking abilities, isn't he?" They laughed together and she kissed him on the cheek. "Can you believe it?" she whispered into his pointed ear, "It's all over." He turned his head to kiss her lips. She only wished they were in private so she could kiss him harder. She pulled away and gave him the look. He smiled knowingly. "We'll have to wait until you've done your big talk, think about it, it'll be better then, delayed gratification and all." She sighed and pulled a chair up to sit beside him. "You know," he said, "This is the first time I've never had any orders. I'm Tal-Vashoth now, ugh, Tal-Va-fucking-shoth. No orders from the Ben Hassrath... I'm a free man, can go wherever I want." Yennifer frowned. Was this the beginning of a goodbye she was hearing? "Where will you go?" she asked, trying to keep the tone of anger from her voice. He laughed and gently chucked her chin with his fist, "I'm good right here, Kadan," he said.  
Yennifer walked to meet Cassandra, her good friend. "I can't believe it's over!" the Seeker gushed, "It's hard to believe that not so long ago we didn't know each other, I distrusted you so. If you had told me back then that we would be so close I would have... well, I wouldn't have laughed, that's for sure." Yennifer laughed, remembering all those years ago when Cassandra had interrogated her at sword point. It was difficult to believe those days had ever happened. Yennifer had spent so many nights reading Swords and Shields with Cassandra, and telling her of her blossoming relationship with Bull. Cassandra had gushed when she heard about the necklaces she had crafted for herself and Bull, but she would often feign disgust if any dirty details came out, although secretly she wanted to know. "Did you know I was elected to be Divine? I just received the letter when we returned." Yennifer gasped and threw her arms round Cassandra's neck. "Congratulations!" she squealed. She did not believe in the Maker, and personally felt the Chantry was a shambles, but she knew the position of Divine was something Cassandra aspired to, and she knew that the Maker's will played a huge role in the Seeker's life, so she was absolutely thrilled for her. "Yes, thank you," Cassandra said, a huge grin spreading across her face. "We can talk about it later though, you have a speech to prepare for. Josephine has written it out for you, if you care to read it. It's up in your room."  
Yennifer made her way to the door to her chambers, followed by her Bull. "Kadan, can we talk before you do your big thing?" he asked, "It'll only take a minute." she turned round and smiled at him, pushing the door open behind her. "You always last longer than a minute, Bull," she said, causing him to laugh loudly. Everyone turned to look and they all gasped, laughed and pointed as Bull pushed the Inquisitor through the door. "Won't be long folks," he called out.  
Once they were up in the safety of her room, Bull took her hand and led her out on to the balcony. He pushed her against the wall, putting one hand above her head and one at her waist, and leaned in to kiss her, deep and hard, how she liked. She melted under his lips, raising her hands to his thick, muscular shoulders. She parted her lips and kissed him back, fast and hungry, desperate for him. He pressed his body against hers, pinning her to the wall. She felt his hard length pressing into her and pulled him closer. They held each other so tightly that they almost became one. He pulled away then, leaving her panting and desperate for more. "Not yet, Kadan," he whispered. "You are the strongest, wisest, most beautiful person I've ever met, and I'm going to be so proud watching you up there, giving your speech... with this big, old love bite on your neck!" He put his lips against her neck and started to suck on the skin. "You arse!" she cried out, pushing him away and smacking him on the chest. They laughed together, looking out into the Frostbacks and up at the clear skies, ahead of them, taking a moment to bathe in their love for one another before she had to go out and be the Inquisitor again. She was so excited for their life together. So excited to just live with him. And he was excited to live with her. He'd never expected to have a relationship like this. He'd always enjoyed his years fucking anything that took his fancy, but there had always been the part of him that wanted more, but he'd never come across anyone he'd ever been this in love with. He had been brought up to believe that relationships like this were not needed. That he would always be tied to the Qun, and therefore never having the time for a relationship. But since she came along, his Yen, she'd changed everything. Made him free, cut his leash, and he could never thank her enough for the joy and the love and the peace she had brought to his life. He looked down at her, his perfect woman, and smiled. He looked at the dragon tooth around her neck, then reached up to touch his own. How had he gotten so lucky? "No matter how far..." he whispered. "No matter," she replied.


	2. Chapter 2

_My Dearest Yennifer,_  
It is my utmost pleasure to hear you survived the ordeal with the evil one, and I am writing to you now to welcome you back home. I would have expected you to have arrived promptly, due to the Breach being closed for two months now and Thedas safe again, however I understand that there may be some business for you to attend to before you return to Ostwick. I understand that the life of a Chantry sister will seem positively dull to you, now that you have saved the world and taken up combat, however I don't feel comfortable with sending you to become a Templar, so I write to you to offer you the greatest honor of being my heir. I want you home to become the head of the house. I have already lined up a suitor for you, an Orlesian chevalier of noble birth who I'm sure you will approve of. I will make arrangements for your return and of course the grandest of welcome balls. I await your reply,  
Father.  
Yennifer could not believe the cheek of her father. "Straight to business, then," she'd snorted to Leliana over the top of the parchment. "Will you go?" the spymaster asked. Yennifer stared at her. "Are you serious?" The pair of them laughed and Yennifer scrunched the letter up and dumped it into the brazier in Leliana's study. "I suppose I'd best go and write a reply, I wouldn't want him to get all hopeful and pay out for a ball," she said, standing from the seat and making her way down to the great hall. She passed Dorian in the library, pouring over a book as usual. "Hello gorgeous," she said, walking over and planting a kiss on his cheek. "Yes, yes, hello," he replied, waving a hand at her dismissively. She knew better than to disturb him when he was reading, and she left him, giggling quietly to herself. She descended the stairs to the rotunda where Solas used to spend his time at Skyhold, sighing when she saw the emptiness. She had been so certain her friend was going to return, sure that once he had recovered from the distress of losing the orb, he would come back. But he never did. The inquisition scouts had not seen or heard anything from him, but Yennifer knew better than to worry for his physical safety. It was his emotional safety she worried about. He was out there somewhere, alone, hurting and sad, and she wished she had a clue of where he was so she could go to comfort him. She quickly left the room, fearing that spending too much time in there would make her too emotional to carry on her days.  
"Hey, Princess!" Varric called as she walked into the hall. She turned to see him surrounded by pieces of parchment, pieces scrunched up on the floor, most of it keeping the fire going in the hearth. "What's all this?!" she gestured to the mess. Varric dipped his quill in the little ink pot on the table and carried on writing, "I told you didn't I? I said I was going to write a book about all this crazy shit, and well, I've finally started it!" The dwarf chuckled to himself as he wrote another sentence, and part of Yennifer knew it would have something to do with Cassandra. Or Divine Victoria, as she should be calling her now. The seeker had left to start her new journey as Divine, and it was clear that Varric missed her terribly. Yennifer had noticed they'd spent more and more time together, seemingly building bridges between them again, and they had become very close. "It's good to see you doing some work again, Master Tethras," Yennifer joked, winking as she walked away. A ball of paper hit the back of her head, followed by a chant of "Score!"  
The Inquisitor was just about to enter the door to her quarters when Cullen and Josephine cornered her, both demanding her attention. "I've got to remind you Inquisitor, there are a couple of rifts still remaining in The Hissing Wastes that require your attention," Cullen said, "I know you said that it's a, ahem, waste of space, but the demons need to be banished." Yennifer nodded and made a mental note to take a party out to clean up the Wastes, then turned to Josephine who was holding a letter. "I received a letter from your father, Lady Trevelyan, he wants me to remind you to respond to his letter promptly," the ambassador said, holding the letter under Yennifer's nose. "What a coincidence, I was just about to write my reply!" Yennifer said, turning and quickly escaping to her room. She could not believe Bann Trevelyan had written to Josephine as well. The man needed to learn that Yennifer was an adult, and she did not need to be supervised. She climbed the stairs, muttering to herself about ungrateful parents and their inability to congratulate their world saving daughter when she heard a familiar chuckle that immediately warmed her heart. "Someone's got her smallclothes in a twist," Bull laughed, "Why don't you take them off?" He was sprawled out, completely naked on the bed. He'd clearly been having a good time without her, she noticed, as he grabbed his own smallclothes off the floor to wipe away the mess where he'd spent himself on his hand. "Couldn't you even wait for me?" Yennifer said, pretending to sound hurt. Bull laughed, "I'm always ready for you, Kadan, look," and sure enough, he was already hard again. "Get over here," he said, his voice deep and husky. "I need to write back to my father, you won't believe what he wrote to me, Bull, it's quite hilarious. You won't believe the-" she didn't finish her sentence because he was suddenly there beside her, his mouth on hers, crushed her lips with his own. His hands were at her waist, lifting her into the air as though she were no heavier than a nug. She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist as he carried her back to the bed. He put her down on the bed and began tearing her clothes from her body. "You know, if you destroy anymore of my clothes, people are going to stop sending them," she whispered, as he threw the ripped blouse across the room. He tore off the breastband and slipped her breeches and smallclothes off in one sweep. "Well, you'll just have to stop wearing clothes then, won't you?" he replied, looking over her naked body, appreciating the sight that he could never tire of. He leaned down to kiss her lips, and then began making his way down her body, fussing over each nipple, kissing and biting them gently. She writhed about beneath him as he slowly made his way down between her thighs, lapping up her arousal slowly, so slow it was almost painful. He grabbed her legs and draped them over his horns for easier access, and took his time bringing her just close to the brink and then pausing, then bringing her back again... and stopping again. Yennifer's entire body twitched and jerked at every stroke of his rough tongue, and her thighs clench on either side of his head. "Please," she moaned, "Stop torturing me." He grumbled a low laugh, but carried on, this time not stopping when she became close. He took her right over the edge, and she felt the knot of tension burst into a explosion of incredible pleasure, and the Qunari smiled almost wickedly at the way she moaned, the way her body twisted, and thought to himself 'I did that'. He grabbed her hips and flipped her on to her stomach, lifting her ass up into the air and positioning himself at her entrance. She gasped as he thrust himself into her. She'd never gotten used to just how big he was, and she wasn't sure she ever wanted to get used to it. He started off with long, slow, languid thrusts, savouring the feeling of her tight around him, and she sighed quietly, almost sedate with the incredible feeling of being joined with him, her love. She had always enjoyed their more exciting and active nights together, but she had made him come to an agreement that if she indulged him in his pleasures, that he would indulge her in her own, that he would make love to her more often, rather than just fuck her, that sometimes he would take it slow rather than going too fast. They had found their happy middle, and both of them had never been so satisfied with their love lives before. He started to speed up now, the pair of them were ready to finish, and their skin slapped against each other, both of their breathing coming out shallow and deep, soft moans leaving their mouths. She cried out, her body tightening around him, and he grunted as he spent himself inside her, before falling down onto the bed behind her.  
They laid there for a while, catching their breath, still joined together. Once they had recovered she pulled away, walking over to her desk and grabbing her robe on the way, wrapping it loosely around herself. "Back to my letter writing, since I was so rudely interrupted," she said, turning to look at her lover, who had proceeded to fall asleep, snoring softly. She smiled, her heart melting. She'd never felt this way about anyone before. She'd never had that feeling before, where you look at someone and feel your heart swell in an almost painful way. "Why does it hurt so much when I look at him?" she'd asked Vivienne one day. Vivienne smiled sadly, remembering her beloved Bastien. "It's love, darling," the First Enchanter replied, "Don't let it get away. Cherish the feeling." She peeled her eyes away from Bull and turned back to her letter writing.  
Dear Father,  
Thank you so much for offering me such a wonderful opportunity. I can understand your need to further the family name, but I feel that I cannot accept the offer. I am quite happy where I am, and have made a home for myself at Skyhold, and I'm afraid that no lavish offers will be able to tear me away. As for your marriage arrangements for me, I cannot accept that either. I have met a man, a Qunari man, during my time with the Inquisition, a man who I love with every part of my being and I will not leave him for a mere chevalier. I hope that you will respect my choices, and thank you again for your generous offer, but as I have said, I will not be returning to Ostwick.  
Yennifer.


	3. Chapter 3

Yennifer,  
How dare you insult the Trevelyan family? Refusing to do your duty to your family? Making a mockery of our name by whoring yourself out to one of those ox men? Very well, you stay there in your blighted little castle, with your rag tag group of friends and your vile excuse of a lover. You are no daughter of mine.  
Bann Trevelyan.  
She wasn't even hurt at being disowned by her father. That part didn't concern her in the slightest. But she felt a rage burning in her core at the slur 'ox men'. Her nose wrinkled in disgust that he had dared to describe her love as though he was some animal. And her friends, how dare he refer to them so carelessly, after they had helped to preserve the world he lived in? If not for her 'rag tag group of friends' there wouldn't be an Ostwick for her red faced, angry, smart mouthed father to live in. "Fucking wanker," she hissed, throwing the letter into the fireplace, "If it wasn't for the fact that I don't want him to burst the stupid fucking vein in his forehead, I'd send him a nice detailed letter about how his skinny little chevalier he picked out would never be able to satisfy me after you, I'm sure that would turn him purple." She was furious, and Bull's silent, hysterical laughter was not helping. She grabbed some more of his clothes and stuffed them into the pack, helping him get ready for his trip to Orlais. He and the Charger's had gone back to taking jobs from nobles, Skyhold being their permanent home. Today Bull was heading out with his band to exterminate a posse of some thirty five deepstalkers that had somehow found their way out of a Deep Roads entrance somewhere in the vicinity, and were now terrorizing the residents of a noble estate in Orlais. Yennifer hated having to send him off, but she knew that without him and his insatiable lust to distract her, she could get some work done, maybe finally make an expedition out to The Hissing Wastes to close the last few rifts.   
Yennifer and Bull walked out into the courtyard hand in hand, where the Chargers were already mounted up, except Krem, who was trying and failing at keeping Bull's enormous horse from bolting. "Anytime Chief, I'm going grey here," Krem shouted, almost being pulled apart by his own horse and Bull's crazed beast. "Keep in touch," Yennifer said, standing on her tip toes to kiss him. He kissed her back, a bit more full on than she'd expected, ignoring the fake retching sounds the chargers made behind his back. He pulled away and nudged at her dragon tooth necklace. "No matter how far, remember?" he said. He said this everytime he left, and everytime he left it brought tears to her eyes. "No matter," she whispered back. He gave her one last peck on the lips before relieving poor Krem of the black horse, and climbed up into the saddle. Yennifer waved him off and watched as the group rode out into the Frostbacks, not leaving until the gate was closed and locked behind them.   
She went to the War Room to arrange the Hissing Wastes expedition with Cullen, who started making notes for the cooks to prepare food for travel, to the handmaidens to prepare clean clothes for the party, and for Leliana, to arrange for Scout Harding to go ahead of the Inquisitor and set up a camp. "Are you OK, Inquisitor?" Cullen asked, eyeing her across the table with concern, "You're looking a bit peaky, are you feeling well?" Yennifer frowned and shook her head, "I feel fine," she replied, "Nothing wrong, it's probably just because I'm sad to see Bull leaving, it's been a while since his last trip out." Cullen nodded but didn't look convinced. She looked pale and slightly sickly, but he didn't push her. Once all the notes were written down, the commander bid his farewell to the Inquisitor and made his way out of the room to make the arrangements for her trip, so Yennifer went out to get a party together. She called on Dorian and Sera, her two closest friends, because no trip was bearable without their banter, and she asked Varric to join them, he looked like he needed a break from writing, he seemed to be swimming in paper. They set out to the Wastes within the week, riding out in the early morning.   
She listened to Sera and Dorian as they played a game of 'Your people are shit' ahead of the group, laughing at some of the rubbish they came up with. Varric trotted up beside her and looked at her with concern in his face. "You ok, Princess?" he asked. "Oh for the love of - I'm fine Varric!" she snapped back, "You are the third person to tell me I don't look well, first it was Cullen, then Master Dennet, and now you!" Varric's eyes widened at her blatant overreaction, and then he frowned as she hunched forward in the saddle. "Oh no," she gulped. She threw herself off the horse and leaped into the bushes and proceeded to be violently sick into the grass. "Urgh, that's gross!" Sera said over her shoulder whilst she scooped up Yennifer's hair to keep it out of the way. "What have you been eating, it friggin' stinks!" Yennifer pushed the elf away as she straightened up. She sighed, and rubbed her stomach. It was suddenly churning, and she couldn't face getting back on the horse again so she resorted to leading it, stopping every twenty minutes to vomit again and again.   
"Vishante Kaffas, how is there anything left in you?!" Dorian cried as he rubbed her back whilst she vomitted for the seventeenth time that day. "I don't know what's wrong with me," she said, shivering now with her sickness. Dorian insisted that they set up for the night in a small cave, as there was only another days ride to go and they'd reach their destination. He laid a bedroll on the ground for her and helped her lay down. "Do you want something to eat? You must be famished," he asked, an unmistakable note of worry in his voice. "I'll just have some of the porridge, please, just a little," she croaked. He made her the porridge and helped her sit up so she could eat it. He'd put a little cinnamon in it, and it tasted fantastic. She ate it quickly, inhaled it more like, and asked for seconds. She ate three bowls of it before falling into a deep sleep, snoring louder than any of them had ever heard before. "She's being a bit weird, don't you think?" Sera asked Dorian. Dorian nodded, sighing, "She's probably just caught a bug, there's been one bouncing round Skyhold for weeks now," the mage replied, putting his hand to her sweaty brow. "She'll be fine, Sparkler, stop worrying so much, it's just a bout of sickness," Varric called across the cave. Dorian nodded and pulled a book from his bag, igniting a tiny flame in the hand to use as a light to read. Sera went and found some wood, shot a bird and defeathered it, and began crafting some arrows for her quiver, whilst Varric smoked his pipe, looking out into the land beyond.   
"Inquisitor, you look terrible, if you don't mind my saying!" Scout Harding exclaimed when the party made it to the Hissing Wastes camp. "Well, Harding, I won't have to mind, now you've said it, will I?" Yennifer laughed as she dismounted. Harding blushed slightly before going to her trunk and pulling out a small potion. "Commander Cullen sent a raven ahead of you, said you didn't look well so I had this made for you. It's just an elixir to help with nausea," the dwarf pressed the little glass vial into Yennifer's hand and smiled. She drank the liquid, and immediately felt better. "Oh wow, thanks Harding," she smiled back, feeling ready to take on the rifts. "Come on everyone, lets get straight out, there's only two rifts left so it should be a quick trip."  
The party ventured out, finding the first rift quickly. Yennifer raised her hand and disrupted it, watching as three wraiths and a rage demon spilled out. She pulled her daggers from their sheaths, slicing through the demons with ease as Sera fired her handmade arrows, lacing them with poison, whilst Dorian froze the rage demon with his staff. Varric and Bianca shot rounds and rounds of bolts into the demons, and when the second wave came through, another rage demon and an envy demon, they got the rift closed within minutes, already working at a good rhythm, each complimenting one another's fighting styles. The final rift was an easy one, consisting of wisps and one terror, and they were back at the camp before nightfall. "A letter came for you, Inquisitor," Harding said, handing her a small envelope, the raven on her shoulder spreading it's wings ready to take off again. Yennifer tore open the envelope and smiled when she recognized Bull's handwriting. Messy, written quickly, the quill pressed hard into the parchment, the writing slightly smudged due to him being left handed.   
Kadan,  
Just a quick note to tell you I arrived in Orlais safe and sound, took us a while longer because there were a few taverns with some pretty great ale beckoning to us on the road. Hope you're doing good, will get in touch again soon,  
Love, Bull.  
She sat down in one of the tents to write back to him,  
Bull,  
I don't know if anyone's told you, but you drink too much. Good to hear you're safe, don't be letting any of those Orlesians take advantage of you, make sure they know the Inquisitor will kick their asses if they hurt your delicate feelings. All is good with me, been feeling a little sick but nothing to worry about. I look forward to hearing from you again soon,   
Love, Yen.  
She sealed the letter in an envelope and popped it into a message canister, fastened in around the neck of one of Harding's ravens and sent it on it's way. She turned to see Varric cooking up a rack of August Ram ribs over the camp fire. "Your favourite, Princess, I thought you deserved something nice what with all your illness," he smiled. The smell of the cooking meat assaulted her nostrils and she shook her head, running away from the camp and throwing up into the sand. Sera came running over to pat her back gently. "Right, what is wrong with you? Something's definitely wrong Yenny," Sera sounded genuinely worried, which meant Yennifer should be worried, because Sera was never worried. "I don't know," Yennifer whispered, a feeling of dread washing over her. "We've got to get you back to Skyhold so someone can take a look at you, something's not right."


	4. Chapter 4

Yennifer had been back at Skyhold for a week now, and she still couldn't stop being sick. At least three times a day now she was vomiting, and she was bedridden for most of her time. Bull had sent countless letters fussing over her, cursing his trip to Orlais, begging her to let him come back and look after her, but she always refused, telling him it wasn't necessary and that she had the best healers in the Inquisition caring for her. That didn't mean to say that she didn't want him there however. She wanted nothing more than his warm body next to her, his deep voicing keeping her calm and talking to her during one of her vomiting attacks. She missed him terribly, and she had become so emotional every time she thought about him. Her eyes started watering and she began to cry like a pathetic little idiot. "You usually cope so well when The Iron Bull is away, my lady," Josephine said after walking in on her sobbing uncontrollably into her bowl of porridge. "Are you sure you're OK?" Yennifer shrugged and pushed the porridge away. "I don't know, Josie," she cried, "I don't know what's wrong with me!" Josephine had called in a healer to check up on her, but he was the worst healer Yennifer had ever met. He prodded her and wrenched her mouth open and stared into her eyeballs but nothing he did made her feel any better. "Perhaps you would feel better if you got some fresh air, Inquisitor," Josephine suggested.   
Yennifer decided a few hours later that she would go for a walk. She got up and pulled a thick wool robe on over her pajamas and slipped a pair of slippers on her feet and made her way down to the main hall. She was a sight for sore eyes and everyone stopped to stare at her. She was hunched over, a hand on her stomach, her hair sticking out in every direction. Her face was pale and she had bags under her eyes and she was shivering. "Maker's breath, get back to your quarter's, you shouldn't be out in this state!" Cullen cried out when he caught sight of her shuffling towards the main doors. "You'll catch your death of cold out there, Yennifer!" She ignored him and carried on shuffling, easing herself down the steps and into the courtyard, passing Cole on her way. "It's warm in here, nice and warm. I like the sound of her voice even though she doesn't sound happy, it still sounds nice." She stopped in her tracks and turned to look at him. "Who's thoughts are you perusing today, Cole?" she asked, smiling at the boy. He looked back at her, frowning and tilting his head to one side in confusion. "It was you, wasn't it?" Cole replied. Yennifer frowned, "I think you might be losing your touch, Cole," she laughed, walking away. She climbed the stairs of the Herald's Rest, to Sera's little room. She found the elf laid on her window seat, face scrunched in a grimace and clutching her belly. "Oh no, not you too," Yennifer groaned, sitting next to her. "No, it's not the same as you," Sera groaned back, "It's my monthly. Friggin' killing me this time." Yennifer chuckled, about to make a smart comment when suddenly her eyes widened. She thought back to her last monthly, but she couldn't actually remember the last one. "I, uh, I have to go," she stammered, standing up and moving quickly out of the room. "What's gotten into you? Not Bull!" Sera shouted after her, laughing loudly to herself. Yennifer started breathing quicker, and as soon as she was outside she ran across the courtyard and straight up to the library where she found Dorian having an afternoon nap. "DORIAN DORIAN DORIAN" she screeched, frantically waving her arms in his face. He leaped out of his seat, squealing in surprise. "Vishante Kaffas, woman, are you trying to kill me?! What do you want?!" he stared at the terrified expression on her face and grabbed her arms, guiding her to the seat he had been in. He knelt down in front of her, "What in the name of the Maker has caused you to look so frightened?" She took a deep breath. "What I'm about to ask you is going to sound ridiculous, but I didn't know who else to ask," she started, "But I need to ask you, can humans and Qunari... can they... oh no. Can a human and a Qunari have a baby?" Dorian stared at her. And stared. And stared. And then he laughed. "No! Don't be ridiculous, you think you're pregnant?" he exclaimed, a look of pure joy on his face at the ridiculous thing she said, "It's not possible, I'm quite certain." Yennifer couldn't believe he was laughing at her. "But Dorian," she protested, "I've been throwing up almost constantly, I can't stand the smell of some of my favourite foods, but I'm constantly craving porridge, I'm crying all the time, and I can't remember the last time I had a period." Dorian sighed and shook his head. "Qunari and humans can't interbreed, it's never been heard of my dear. You're just suffering a bout of sickness. As for your... ahem... monthly, you've had a stressful few years what with Corypheus, it's well documented that stress can make you irregular." He sounded pretty certain, and she couldn't disagree with him on the fact of her probably being irregular. She sighed and nodded, and he gave her a hug. "Now, go away and let me get back to sleep, I'll come and check on you later," he smiled. She made her way back to her room, climbed into bed and flopped down onto the mattress. She felt better after getting a bit of fresh air, and she felt like her little dash across the courtyard had helped sweat the sickness out of her system. She found a letter on her bedside table, and she almost cried with happiness when she opened it.   
Hey Kadan,  
Got finished up with the deepstalkers and we set off home yesterday. Should be back at Skyhold tomorrow. Can't wait to see you, hope you're feeling better,  
Love, Bull.  
She went to sleep feeling much better.


	5. Chapter 5

"Oh, I've missed this," Yennifer panted, her head rested against Bull's chest. She had woken up the morning of Bull's return feeling fantastic. She dressed in her proper clothes again, washed her hair and put it in a long braid and threw open all the balcony doors in her quarters. She ordered ale and wine and a feast to be brought up ready for Bull coming home, and as soon as he had dismounted, she grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him up to her quarters. He smiled when he saw the spread waiting for him, and together they ate until they could barely move. But that didn't stop her pushing him off his chair and onto the bed. She pulled his boots off, and slowly removed his breeches. He gasped when she hungrily took him into her mouth, working on his length until he was hard in her hands. It had been so long that it took no time at all for him to be ready for her. She climbed onto him, pulling her dress up around her waist and slowly sliding him inside her. She bucked her hips and rotated them slowly, feeling her orgasm building straight away. She fell forward onto his chest, her arms reaching forward to the headboard for leverage. He loved this position, as her breast were inches from his face. He reached up and unbuttoned her dress, freeing her tits and burying his face in between them. They sighed and moaned together in unison, his hips bucking up to push himself deeper into her. She gasped, throwing her head back, relishing in the moment. They finished together, but he was ready to again straight away, and she couldn't refuse. He lifted her up and carried her across the room, pinning her up against the wall. She wrapped her legs around his waist and cried out as he thrust into her hard and fast, until they both came apart at the seems. He carried her back to the bed, still inside her, and together they made slow, passionate love, staring into each other's eyes. "I've missed you so much, Kadan," he whispered, trying to catch his breath. She wrapped her arms around his head and pulled him down to kiss him, long and deep. When they'd finally finished with each other, he'd rolled off of her, and here they were, laid in each others arms, basking in their love for one another.   
"You don't seem so sick now, Kadan," Bull laughed. She felt the vibrations of his voice through his chest and smiled, stroking the soft skin. She went to answer, when suddenly she felt it. The grumble in her stomach. Bull must have heard it, as he began to sit her up. She left out of the bed and ran to the balcony doors, throwing it them open before vomiting spectacularly over the railings and into the Frostbacks below. Bull sat up in bed watching her, naked as the day she was born, ass in the air and tits hanging over into the Frostback Mountains. "Hey Kadan, I know it's a bit of an inappropriate time, and I hope you feel better soon, but I'm getting a pretty amazing view here," he laughed. She stood up and turned to look at him. "I think I'm pregnant," she whispered. Bull fell back and laughed loudly, his belly rippling as he laughed, "I'm pretty sure it doesn't happen that fast, Yen," he said. "No, I'm not joking, Bull," she said sitting on the bed next to him, "I haven't had a period for at least two months now, and I'm suffering with all the symptoms I was taught about in my classes when I was younger." Bull shook his head. "It's not possible between us, Kadan," he said, a note of uncertainty in his voice. She started to get frustrated then. "So what is it?" she snapped, "I've started vomiting again, my cycle is completely fucked, I am repulsed by my favourite foods, what the fuck is wrong with me?! Am I to just accept this for the rest of my life?" Her voice had gone up a few octaves and she sounded hysterical. "Hey, hey, calm down," Bull said calmly, stroking her hair gently, "I'm pretty sure you're not pregnant, Kadan, but if you want me to get in touch with Gatt, he still talks to me if you want me to ask him about it?" She nodded, her bottom lip quivering slightly. "I'm just scared, Bull. What if there's no explanation?" she whispered. He wiped a tear away from her cheek, "There's always an explanation, Kadan," he whispered. "Will Gatt get in trouble for writing to you?" Bull snorted, "If he was going to get into trouble it would have happened long ago, he's been writing to me since we ditched the Qunari." Yennifer smiled, feeling slightly reassured that Bull was taking this seriously.

T W O W E E K S L A T E R

 

Bull,  
Good to hear from you, and please let the inquisitor know that I'm smart enough to not get caught writing letters to a Tal-Vashoth bastard. In regards to your question, I don't know whether it's a happy surprise or a bad surprise to tell you that it is absolutely possible for you to conceive with a human. We have human Tamassrans, remember? It does happen, it's not common, but it does happen. From what you've told me, it sounds pretty certain that you're going to be a father, so congratulations. I hope to hear from you soon,  
Gatt.

The pair of them stared at the parchment. "Holy shit," Yennifer stammered, "I'm pregnant." Bull went to sit in the chair but missed it entirely and fell in a heap on the floor. "Bull?" Yennifer crouched down beside him, waving a hand in front of his vacant face but he didn't respond. The door to Yennifer's quarters flew open and Josephine, Cullen and Leliana came dashing in. "We heard a bang, is everything OK?!" Cullen said, panting from running up the stairs. Their eyes fell to the pile of Qunari on the floor. "Is he OK?" Josephine asked. Yennifer took a deep breath, "I think he's in shock," she replied, "There's something I need to tell you."  
"Pregnant?!" Cullen exclaimed, "Wha... How?!"  
"Well, commander, when a mummy and daddy love each other very much," Leliana said.  
"Oh goodness, I didn't think it possible!" Josephine squealed, clapping her hands excitedly. The ambassador ran forward and grabbed Yennifer's hands and started to spin her around the room, and the Inquisitor became overcome with excitement too and started to jump about the room. Cullen smirked, Leliana laughed, but Bull stood up and left the room, stomping as he went, not even look at Yennifer. Everyone fell silent and listened as the door at the bottom of the stairs slammed closed.


	6. Chapter 6

Everyone in the main hall had turned to watch Bull storm out of the main doors, and now their heads whipped round to see the Inquisitor chasing after him. She marched through the hall, ignoring the whispers and the stares of the nobles who always seemed to be in the way. "Where is he?" she said to Varric, who had tried to hide his face behind a sheet of parchment. "Look Princess, he didn't seem very happy, maybe you two should sleep on it..." the dwarf offered, shrugging his shoulders. His head shrank back down behind the parchment, only the top of his head and a pair of terrified eyes peeking over the top when her face darkened. "Don't 'princess' me Varric, where did he go?" A hand appeared from behind the parchment, pointing out the open doors to the tavern. 'Of course,' she thought, rolling her eyes and making her way over to the Herald's Rest. She stepped through the door and her eyes immediately fell on him, sitting at his usual table, but now his back was to the door, his huge shoulders hunched, surrounded by his chargers. She didn't see Dorian and Sera sitting at the bar sharing drinks and getting tipsy together. They both stopped what they were doing and glared as their friend stormed across the tavern to stand behind her lover. The chargers melted away, even Krem looked afraid when he saw the look on her face. Bull turned his head away from her slightly. "Can we talk please? In private?" she asked quietly. He ignored her. "Bull?" Again he ignored her. She looked around at the others in the tavern, how they all were trying so hard to pretend they hadn't noticed the inquisitor and her boyfriend were having a domestic. "I need to talk to you, please just... just look at me at least!" she hissed, feeling a lump rising in her throat, a mix of anger, embarrassment, and devastation at the way her love wouldn't even look at her. "Bull," she whispered, her voice cracking slightly. His face scrunched up at the sound of sadness in her voice, but still, he shook his head and rested his forehead in his hand. She took a deep breath, trying to hold herself together, and reached out to put her hand on his shoulder, but he shrugged it off. A sob escaped her lips. Not a gentle gasp, a quiet cry, but a loud, ugly, croak of a sob that brought silence across the tavern. She spun around and ran from the room, back across the courtyard and past Varric, who watched her, slack jawed and with a hint of anger in his face at the way his princess had been made to feel. She ran up the stairs to her quarters, tripping up a step and thumping her knee on the wood. She cried out in pain, picking herself up and throwing herself on the bed. She buried her face in the pillow that still smelt of him, sobbing loudly into the material. She didn't even hear the door open and close, so she shuddered slightly when she felt the weight of Sera and Dorian climbing onto either side of her on the bed. "We heard the news," Dorian said, pulling her up against his chest and holding her tightly, "I'm guessing he never took it well." He rocked her gently, and Sera reached out to grab her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "What am I going to do?" Yennifer weeped, clutching a handful of Dorian's shirt in her fist, "I can't raise a Qunari baby by myself!" Sera snorted and swept Yennifer's hair out of her face. "Don't be daft, you'll have me and Dorian to help you," the elf said softly. "No, no dear, I'm not good with babies," Dorian laughed, and Yennifer hiccupped, trying to laugh but not able to bring herself to do it. "Besides, he will come round, you know he will, he loves you to bit so silly bugger," Sera continued. Dorian nodded, "It's true, Yen, you should hear how he talks about you when you're not around, he never shuts up about you... Get's a bit annoying after a while." The three of them sat on the bed holding each other, Sera and Dorian exchanging worried glances, concerned for their friend.   
Eventually, Yennifer began to tire, and ended up falling asleep. Her friends stayed with her that night sleeping on either side of her. Next morning when they woke up, Yennifer found herself being spooned by Sera, Dorian had one arm underneath both the girls' heads, and one of Yennifer's legs was resting across Dorian's stomach, his other hand holding her ankle to keep her leg in place. The mage and the elf were still sleeping, and Yennifer didn't have the heart to wake them. She ended up falling back to sleep, waking up later to find her friends had left and a young elven handmaiden was standing at the foot of the bed holding a tray of food. "Lord Pavus asked me to bring this for you My Lady Inquisitor," she said quietly. "Thank you," Yennifer replied, rubbing sleep from her eyes, "Just set it on the desk there please." The elf did as she was asked and quickly left the room. Yennifer looked over at the food. A few slices of toast, two poached eggs and a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. She took a small bite of the toast, and it was only then that she realised how hungry she was. She wolfed down the food and guzzled the juice, then eyed a few reports that Cullen had left on the tray for her, a small note pinned to them that read,  
Inquisitor,  
Here are some reports for you to look over, please return them to me when you're finished.  
Cullen.  
P.S. I'm afraid news of your situation has spread around Skyhold, and many are talking about the exchange in the tavern last night. If you wish to talk, my door is open all day.  
She smiled at the Commander's note. She was so grateful for the friends she had here. She picked up the reports and sat at her desk to read through them. A report from Scout Harding regarding the last few dragonlings in the Hinterlands. They had mostly been exterminated, however one had been taken to the University of Orlais for Frederic Serault to study. She was reading through the remaining reports when she heard the door open and close behind her, heard him walk in slowly. "Are you OK this morning?" he asked quietly. She nodded, not even turning to look at him. "Do you want me to take your breakfast dishes down to the kitchen?" She shrugged, her eyes fixed on the report in her hands. He tried again, "What are you doing today?" She shrugged again, and she heard the familiar crack of his knuckles as he balled his fists in frustration. "You're gonna have to talk to me at some point, Yennifer," he growled. She was waiting for this. She spun around so fast that he stepped back. "Am I? Am I going to HAVE to?" she snapped, "You didn't HAVE to talk to me last night? In fact you ignored me in front of the entire tavern, you ignorant bastard." He looked shocked. Good, she thought, so he should be shocked, how dare he think he can treat her like that and not expect consequences? "Look, I overreacted, I wasn't thinking straight-" "You're right, you did overreact! You treat me worse than shit, Bull, how dare you?" He turned away from her and started to pace the room, but she persisted. "I bet you don't want the baby, you don't want it because now you know you can breed with humans you're probably worried you've got a kid in every fucking village in Thedas! Wouldn't want to add to the brood, would you?!"   
"Damn it, Yennifer!" he bellowed, punching the wall. "You think I don't want this baby? I couldn't give two fucks if I have a thousand kids out there, this is the one I want," he pointed at her stomach, her stomach that had already started to swell slightly. "I've always thought I couldn't have a kid, never thought I'd find someone I wanted to have one with, and then you came along, and I never knew we'd be able to have one, and now I know we can, I'm scared that it'll kill you." He turned away then, walked out onto the balcony and gripped the railing, his knuckles going white with the force he was holding it. "Don't take it out on the balcony, it's not the balcony's fault," she whispered, her voice softening. He turned round and smiled at her, walking back inside to sit on the bed, his face now level with hers. She grabbed his face tightly between her hands, smushing his cheeks together. "My Bull," she sighed, leaning forward to kiss him, "Look at me, I'm not going to die. If my body couldn't handle this, it wouldn't happen. This," she grabbed his hand and pressed it against her stomach, "This is us. This is OUR child. You're going to be a fantastic father, and I can't wait for the rest of our lives." He leaned forward to kiss her this time, a long, lingering kiss. He opened his legs so he could pull her closer, his arms wrapped tightly around her waist. She wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her cheek on the top of his head, in between his horns. Bull sighed, and then pulled her away, holding her at arms length, a huge grin on his face. "I'm gonna be a father," he said, "I'm gonna be a dad!" He swept her up off the ground and swung her around in the air, and they laughed together, full of joy and love and happiness. He set her back down on her feet, kissed the top of her head and then ran out into the main hall. She lost count of how many times she heard him shout "I'M GONNA BE A FATHER!"


	7. Chapter 7

"What... was that?" Bull asked, his eyes wide, staring down at Yennifer's huge, swollen stomach. She had just gotten back from the raven coop, where she had delivered a message to Cassandra, or Divine Victoria as Mother Gisele constantly begged her to refer to her as, telling her she couldn't wait for her to visit Skyhold next month. The Divine had been writing constantly to ask how Yennifer's pregnancy was going, desperate to hear every little detail, from the fascinating parts, such as how her hair had grown about four inches in a month, to the disgusting parts, such as how the poor woman was suffering with double hemorrhoids and felt like a nuggalope was about to drop out of her nether regions at any moment. Cassandra wanted to hear it all, now that she was Divine and would never marry or have children of her own. "It's all so wonderful to hear," Cassandra had gushed in her letter, "I can't wait to come and see you, I have made all the necessary arrangements but will cancel if you don't wish me to be there, however I would love to come and be with you for the birth." Yennifer was beyond excited to have Cassandra coming to visit, not only so that her dear friend could meet the baby, but so they could catch up, and also so the residents of Skyhold had a bit of excitement, what with the Divine coming home. When Yennifer got back to the Herald's Rest, where she was meeting Bull and the Charger's for a drink (wine and ale for them, water for her) she had embraced her love, pressing her stomach against him, and together they witnessed their baby's first kick. Yennifer gasped, feeling like the foot had almost cracked a rib. Bull jumped back, staring at her bump with a worried expression. "It's just the baby, Bull," Yennifer laughed, rubbing her belly and smiling, "Hello in there!" she smiled. Bull laughed and put his hand on her belly, "Do it again, little Kadan," Bull said, a tone of joy in his voice. "I want to feel!" Krem shouted, shoving Bull out of the way. "Me too!" "And me!" "I want a go!" "Move out of the way!" The Chargers all started barging each other out of the way, desperate to get a feel of the chief's baby, and Yennifer, and the baby it seemed, were more than happy to indulge them. The baby kicked and wriggled and kicked some more, already a little crowd pleaser. But Yennifer would be lying if she said each kick didn't hurt a little. After the Chargers, and soon the entire tavern, had had their feel of the baby bump, Bull took Yennifer's hand and led her back into Skyhold and to their quarters. It was getting late and she had started needing earlier nights, what with carrying round a baby that was half giant. She had started waddling slightly, her hips feeling so wide it was as though they were on opposite sides of Thedas. Her belly was so big that she had to sit with her side facing the table at meal times, because she was more than an arms length away from the table. She could no longer wear trousers, because she felt uncomfortable with the waist band sitting underneath her belly, and shirts were also out of the question because they kept riding up. She instead had to wear long, ugly dresses that made her look like she was a tent ready to be deployed to an Inquisition camp. She could no longer wear her shoes because her feet had swollen so much that none fit her anymore. Instead she took to walking around Skyhold barefoot. Bull had put Krem in charge of the Chargers until the baby was born so that he could carry Yennifer whenever she needed to go outside, and so he could carry her up and down stairs, as she would be exhausted after hoisting herself up the first step. He was doting on her, constantly massaging her aching feet, helping her take baths, and rubbing her back every night before bed. There was one thing he wouldn't indulge her in though. Sex. A few months into the pregnancy, Yennifer's lust had been insatiable, and every slight touch of her skin turned her into a crazed sex pest. Dorian had stopped walking too close to her after he had brushed past her in the hall outside the bathhouse and she had almost had an orgasm right there. "Maker's breath woman, pull yourself together," he'd cried, literally cringing away from her. She'd never felt so embarrassed, and wrote a full page of apologies to her friend, to which he replied that he knew it was just a result of her pregnancy, but he was quite happy to tell people that she had a burning love for him that he could unfortunately never satisfy. "That fucking Vint," Yennifer had cursed when she heard a group of young handmaidens tittering and whispering about how the inquisitor had a crush on the Tevinter mage, and how he wasn't interested because he lacked the proper parts. When she'd walked past they all looked at her with pitiful expressions.   
Yennifer had become desperate for Bull to indulge her. "Forget that pact we made where you make love to me every now and then, just please fuck me, any which way, I don't care, I need you," she begged regularly, and even though Bull wanted nothing more than to take her, he had to refuse. "I'm sorry Kadan, I can't risk hurting you," he'd said. He couldn't think of anything worse than accidentally crushing her, or falling on her and harming the baby. Instead, he would sometimes pleasure her with his mouth, and though it helped a little, she still was furious that he wouldn't have sex with her. She tried everything to get him to do it, from threatening to ask someone else (she offered up Cullen and Varric, suggestions that Bull guffawed at. "I don't think little old Varric could satisfy you after me Kadan. And I think poor Cullen would throw himself off the battlements with embarrassment if you propositioned him like that!"), to walking around the room completely naked and rubbing the cream Mother Gisele had given her for stretchmarks all over her body in the most seductive way she could manage while Bull watched on with the will power of a saint. Finally, she turned to sobbing and crying out that he didn't love her anymore and thought she was fat and that he was never going to touch her again. He hated seeing her cry, and when she started this he would sweep her up into his arms and hold her close while he whispered reassurances into her ear. "Let me tell you, Kadan, seeing you huge and round with my child sends me crazy. I've never been so attracted to you, and it's killing me not being able to just rip your clothes off and fuck you on every surface in this castle. But just you wait. Once that baby is out of you, I'm going to really up the ante. You're going to feel things you didn't even know you could feel. I'm going to fuck you so hard you won't be able to walk for a week." He whispered these things into her ear, slowly growling the things he was going to do to her in explicit detail, making her come apart in his hands just by using his voice.   
Preparations for the baby's arrival were well under way, and with only two months left until the birth, perhaps less Mother Gisele warned, what with the baby growing at such an alarming rate and considering her research that Qunari women had shorter pregnancies than humans and elves, almost everything was in place. Mother Gisele and a team of Chantry sisters from Haven who had stepped in as nurses had devised a birth plan with Yennifer, and were ready very minute of every day in case the baby came early. They had written to all the libraries in Southern Thedas, begging for them to send any books or pieces of writing on delivering children so that they could all become better acquainted with what they were to face. Many of the sisters had delivered babies once or twice, but none that were as large as this baby would be, and what with the events surrounding Corypheus, not many babies had been conceived in the inquisition in recent years. Blackwall had been working tirelessly on making furniture from wood for the baby. He'd built a basic crib, a high chair and a changing table, all of which he'd found schematics for in a carpentry book in Skyhold's library. Dagna had worked with him to make a mobile to attach to the baby's crib. It had tiny wooden dragons on it, and Dagna enchanted it so that it spun around, and the dragons gave tiny puffs of smoke. Vivienne sent to her seamstress in Val Royeaux and had about four trunks full of baby clothes made, all in gorgeous colours and the best fabrics, and they were slightly larger than your usual baby clothes. Krem had stitched a small herd of toys for the baby, from a stuffed nug, a little mabari, and a few other creatures found around the world, and stitched little cannisters of seeds into each one so they rattled. Varric had managed to procure a book of lullabies, and Sera spent weeks knitting a multicolored blanket. One day, a day that would become only a fortnight before the birth, Leliana came to the war room where Yennifer and the advisors were to have their usual monthly meeting where they talked about the inquisition, brought up any concerns and scheduled visits around Southern Thedas for their couriers to order essentials like food and other supplies. She handed Yennifer a small piece of parchment with a note on it, judging by the handwriting it had been written quickly, and the state of the parchment said it had been folded and unfolded and folded again many times. "I was looking through some of my scout reports and this was in there. It's addressed to you, Yennifer, but I haven't the faintest idea who it could be from," Leliana said, confused. Yennifer unfolded the parchment and read it, her brow furrowing at the note.  
Dearest Yennifer,  
Congratulations,  
D W.  
"D W?" Yennifer said, looking up at Leliana, her confusion mirrored in the spy master's eyes. She looked across the war table at Cullen and Josephine, both of whom frowned and shook their heads. After the meeting, Bull came to carry her up the stairs to their room, where she showed him the note. "What do you think D W stands for?" she asked, making her head hurt as she thought back to all the people she'd ever met, trying to remember if she'd ever come across someone who's initials matched that of the note. "No idea, but I wouldn't worry yourself over it, Kadan," Bull said, motioning to drop the note in the fire place. "No, don't burn it!" she said, rushing forward and snatching it from his hands. "I want to keep it, just in case." She put it into her trunk where she kept all her collectables that she'd ended up with over the years. "In case of what?" Bull asked. She rubbed the back of her neck and sighed in frustration. "I don't know," she replied quietly, "I just... I don't know."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The bit about Qunari women having shorter gestation periods is by no means canon as far as I know, I totally made that up because I'm a lazy beast and I'm desperate to get this section over with so we can get Yennifer into labour!!!!!!


	8. Chapter 8

"Is that her?"  
"I can't see!"  
"Move over!"  
"Look at that carriage!"  
"This is so exciting!"  
"Most Holy!"  
"It's the Divine! She's here! At Skyhold!"  
Yennifer smiled down at the excited people clambering to get a glimpse of Divine Victoria. The Divine convoy was filling the courtyard, and Yennifer looked across at Cullen, who was scratching the back of his neck nervously, obviously worried about where he was going to put all these people. Josephine was scribbling something on her clipboard, her brow furrowed. "I didn't know all these guests would be joining Most Holy!" she hissed to Leliana, "If I'd known I would have ordered more food and wine and ale!" Leliana laughed quietly, "Stop worrying Josie, you've ordered enough food the feed half of Thedas, and enough wine to drown it." Josephine wasn't convinced, and she stamped her foot in protest at her self acclaimed failure. "Don't worry about it, Josephine, honestly! I'll make sure Bull doesn't go back for seconds, he's almost as rotund as me now so he needs to lay off the cakes and spiced nuts!" Yennifer whispered, giving Bull a playful elbow to the ribs. The Qunari laughed, "Just you wait woman," he said, "Once that baby's out you're going to pay for that." Yennifer sighed and looked up at him with seductive eyes, "Oh? What do you have planned for me, Chief?" Bull shook his head, a glint of arousal in his eyes. "I don't want to give anything away, Kadan, wouldn't want you to be prepared now, would I?" They both laughed like a pair of naughty school children when they heard Vivienne behind them tut loudly, whispering something under her breath about pure filth.   
First through the gates came thirty soldiers on foot, a Chantry cleric at either end of each row holding up a Chantry flag. After that came twenty soldiers seated on armored mounts, followed by the Divine's carriage, followed by another twenty mounted soldiers, and finally the supply carriages. Master Dennet and his team of stable hands ran forward quickly to relieve the soldiers of their horses, and a hush fell over the crowd as a soldier pulled open the door of the Divine's carriage. Cassandra stepped out, in full Divine garb, and a deafening cheer erupted. Everyone was excited, throwing handmade confetti into the air and waving their hands in the general direction of Divine Victoria. Cassandra had an almost forced smile on her face, but Yennifer could see she was definitely screaming on the inside. She made her way up the steps of Skyhold, reaching out to touch the hands of desperate Andrastians, to bless babies and young children that were thrust into her face. She nodded and smiled as she passed by the people, and when she finally came to stand in front of her old companions, they all bowed and curtseyed before her. "Rise, you fools," she hissed, sounding slightly embarrassed. She stepped up to Yennifer and rested a hand on her shoulder, "You, my friend, bow to no one." Yennifer smiled, but her smile soon turned to a frown when she realised how tightly Cassandra was clutching her shoulder. Through clenched teeth, Cassandra hissed, "Get. Me. Out. Of. Here."   
Yennifer led Cassandra to her old quarters where she used to sleep when she still lived at Skyhold. "Ah, just as I remembered it," Cassandra sighed happily. Yennifer turned to close the door, and when she turned back around Cassandra had stripped off her hat and robes to reveal her suit of armor underneath. "Much better," she laughed, taking a seat at her old desk. "Is everything alright? You seemed pretty distressed out there..." Yennifer asked, taking a seat on the edge of the bed across from the Divine. Cassandra shook her head, "You have no idea, my friend!" she cried, "They won't leave me alone, I have a guard of people following me at all times, I was quite happy to ride here on my own, but no! I wasn't even allowed to ride my own horse in the procession, I had to sit in that stuffy, stupid carriage like some prissy noble! I can't stand it, Yennifer! They act like I can't defend myself, they forget what I've done, I've fought dragons and darkspawn and Maker knows what else! I saved Divine Beatrix from a dragon attack!" Yennifer laughed, and then immediately wished she hadn't when Cassandra's icy glare fell on her. "I thought you had help from mages? And I thought you hated telling that story!" she said. Cassandra rolled her eyes, "Ugh! I do hate that story, but desperate times call for desperate measures, I need them to treat me like myself and not like a glass ornament. I am fully capable of protecting myself and yet they want to wrap me in lambswool and put me in a safe keeping box!" Cassandra took a deep breath, composed herself and then smiled at her friend. "But enough about me, what about you? It's true what they say about pregnant women, you are positively growing... May I?" she asked, reaching a hand out towards Yennifer's stomach. "Of course," Yennifer smiled. Cassandra rested her hand gently on the swollen belly, gasping at how firm it was, expecting it to be soft and squishy. She almost jumped a mile when a tiny foot or hand hit her palm. "Was that... Did it just move?!" she exclaimed, her face awash with excitement. "It certainly did! It must like you, it doesn't do that for just anyone," Yennifer smiled, her heart swelling at how excited Cassandra was, but breaking slightly when she remembered her friend would never experience this. Cassandra sighed sadly, thinking the same. "I am positively envious of you, Inquisitor," she said, a small smile on her face, "You got the ideal. A man who swept you off your feet, treats you like his equal, loves you unconditionally... And you got this," she rubbed the bump, "Hold on to this happiness, my friend, you are truly lucky that in a life where many things have been chosen for you, you got to choose this part of your life." Yennifer smiled, resting her hand over Cassandra's. "You know you can babysit whenever you want, Bull has barely touched me since I started showing, we've got a lot of... catching up to do." Cassandra laughed loudly, "You're terrible!" she cried out, snatching her hand away and pretending to be disgusted. The two women talked for what seemed like forever, until Varric popped his head round the door, "Princess, Seeker, you should know Ruffles is tearing her hair out downstairs, the feast is about to start, you've been up here for hours..." Yennifer stood up and walked to the door and Varric held it open for her. "I must change back into my robes, Varric will you save me a seat beside you?" Cassandra asked, smiling at the dwarf. He smiled back and nodded. "Anytime, Seeker," he replied.  
The feast was spectacular. Everyone gorged themselves on cuisines from all over Thedas, and everyone commented on how Josephine had truly outdone herself. Once the plates were cleared away, Maryden came out and provided music, and many of the guests got up to dance, drunk on the delicious wines and ales that had been brought in specially. Yennifer climbed up to stand on Bull's lap and told the serving staff to forget about their duties in the kitchen for the night and to join the party, refusing to have any member of the inquisition doing anything other than enjoying life for the night. Yennifer was surrounded by her friends. Dorian and Sera were playing a game to see who got drunk first. Whoever was the drunkest by the end had to streak across the courtyard. Cassandra was drinking water, but had a little flask of wine under her robes that she drank from every time she was sure she wouldn't be caught by one of the Chantry people. "It's not that drinking isn't allowed," she slurred, after drinking from her flask after Bull filled it for a fourth time, "But I am quite sure it's frowned upon!" Varric was entranced by Cassandra, and couldn't stop staring at her all night, and she spent a lot of time engrossed in conversation with him, quizzing him, or harrassing him more like, About whether he was going to write a follow up story to Swords and Shields. Vivienne was off talking to a group of people from the Council of Heralds, who had come in especially for the Divine's visit. The advisors were letting loose tonight, engrossed in their own game of Wicked Grace. Leliana had taken her hood down, and many people stopped to stare, having never seen her full head of hair before. Josephine had taken her hair out of it's usual braided style, allowing it to fall around her face, and Blackwall was watching her adoringly. Cullen's hair had lost it's hold, and little curls were falling infront of his face, his cheeks rosy from the alcohol. Yennifer had given up her seat for another guest, and was now perched on Bull's lap. He had started getting frisky after his sixth cup of ale, and she certainly wasn't complaining. He kept kissing her neck and drunkenly whispering how much he loved her, and he lifted a hand up to fondle one of her breasts, both of them gasping when a little pool of milk splurted out. "Well... That was unexpected," Bull slurred, staring at the new wet patch on Yennifers grey dress. "I'll have to go and change," Yennifer laughed, "Will you come and help me?" Bull swept her up into his arms and Yennifer let everyone know where they were going, she didn't want to run the risk of everyone standing outside the door thinking they were going to get an earful of them getting hot and heavy. Still though, the room erupted into wolf whistles and cheers of "Go get her, son!" or "Make him work for it Your Worship!"   
Once back in their room, Bull helped Yennifer lift the dress over her head, and as she pulled on a new one, he picked her up again and laid her out on the bed, her backside almost hanging off the edge. "What are you doi-ah!" she cried out as he knelt down and buried his face in between her thighs. Immediately she was soaking wet and he lapped up her arousal hungrily, focusing his attention on her ultra sensitive spot. She let out a loud moan, feeling the familiar wonderful knot of pleasure tying behind her navel, ready to snap and send her into a convulsion in any moment. She let out a long, low moan, and he growled his approval into her sex. "Not too loud Kadan," Bull whispered. He edged her for almost 10 minutes, not too long, but it felt like an eternity to her. She was desperate for the release, clamping her thighs around his head and pushing her hips into his face. He grabbed her thighs, squeezing them gently but holding them firmly in place. He finally let her have it, and she felt the incredible sensation in the southern regions of her body, like delicious, beautiful fireworks going off inside her. She looked down at him, just able to see the tips of his horns pointing out from behind her bump. She was just about to sit up when suddenly she felt a soft 'pop' somewhere deep inside of her. 'What the..' she thought, frowning. But then she realised when she felt the gush of what could only be one thing. "Move!" she cried out, and he jumped out of the way just as her waters spilled out of her, and the first contraction gripped her body. She gasped out in pain, clutching her stomach and trying to sit up. Bull put a hand under her back and helped her sit, a worried expression on his face. "What's wrong Kadan?" he asked, taking her face in his hands. "Isn't it obvious?!" she cried, "The baby's coming, you need to go and get Mother Gisele now!" He stood there, staring slack jawed at her. "Bull please, go and get her now!" He turned to run out into the main hall but stopped when she whimpered behind him. "No, no! Don't leave me, don't leave me alone!" He ran back to her side, wrapping his arms around her, rubbing her back gently. "What are you doing? I can't deliver this baby on my own, go and get Gisele!" she cried out, pushing him away. He groaned and rolled his eyes, sweeping her up into his arms. He carried her back down the stairs and kicked open the door to the great hall with such force the door cracked into the wall. "A little help!" he bellowed, "There's a baby coming here!" Everyone fell silent for a beat and then it was chaos. Dorian, Sera, Cassandra, Josephine and Leliana started running to the Inquisitor's quarters, Mother Gisele snapped her fingers for a group of Chantry sisters to bring warm water and towels, all whilst screeching at the companions that they better not all be crowding the room when she arrived. It was a flurry of nerves, excitement and panic in the bedroom. Bull placed Yennifer on the bed, and Cassandra yanked her skirt up, gasping when she saw that Yennifer was already dilated. "I want to see, I want to... Wow..." Sera said, almost on all fours trying to see if she could see the baby yet. "Sera!" Cassandra gasped, pulling the elf out of the way disgustedly. "Have a look Dorian, it's crazy!" Sera turned to the Tevinter mage who looked positively horrified at the idea. "No thank you, I'm already repulsed enough by that... gash between your legs, ladies, I don't need to see it in the state it's in now!" He turned to Yennifer, who was panting and wailing in pain. Her contractions were getting closer faster than she expected. "Deep breaths, my friend," Dorian cooed, sweeping her hair away from her sweat drenched forehead.   
"Out of the way, all of you, you can't possibly all be in here at once!" Mother Gisele snapped, charging into the room with her team of sisters. "My dear Inquisitor, I am going to feel where the baby is, is this ok?" she said, her voice taking on that annoyingly calming tone that Yennifer was suddenly grateful for. She nodded, gasping and flinching when Gisele just went right ahead and put her hand inside her. "Jump right in, eh? Look at that, she's elbow deep in there!!" Sera laughed. Yennifer was suddenly aware that all of her companions were now present. She groaned slightly. She was grateful for their support but wasn't sure what them all seeing her vagina would do to their relationships. "Well, Inquisitor, it seems this baby will be coming much sooner than I imagined, the head is almost crowning so I will need you to start pushing," Gisele said, sitting on a stool that had been placed at the edge of the bed. "I want you to push for 10 counts, and then you can breath and relax." Yennifer did as she was told, mustering all her strength and pushing down into the bottom of her body. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. She huffed, exhausted after only one push. "How am I going to do this?!" she cried out, tears streaming down her face, "Has it moved?" Everyone assured her the baby had moved a huge distance, except Cole who asked why everyone was lying. Yennifer groaned, readying herself for another push. Another count of 10. And another, and another. Gisele exclaimed that the head was now crowning, and Josephine, Leliana and Cassandra leaped into one another's arms, squealing with excitement. Cullen was watching through tiny cracks in his hands that were covering his face. Sera was transfixed, her jaw hanging open as she watched everything that was happening. Dorian was clutching Yennifer's hand tightly, not complaining at how Yennifer was almost certainly causing tiny fractures to the bones in his own hand as she squeezed with more strength than he knew she had. Bull had a little fascinated smile on his face as he watched his child being born. He looked into her eyes and she saw a single fat tear run down his face. She smiled back, but her happiness was interrupted by a horrible ripping pain. She screamed, blood curdling and deafening. Bull's face paled, Mother Gisele and the sisters eyes all widened, Vivienne leaped forward, placing a hand on Yennifer's forehead and pulsing pain relief magic into her. The pain subsided immediately and Yennifer felt herself become drowsy. Gisele lifted her hands up and Yennifer saw they were covered in blood. Her own blood. Her vision started to blur and her grip on Dorian's hand started to loosen. "Stay with us, Yennifer," she heard him shout, his voice slow and deep, as if slowed down. Bull grabbed her chin and shook it violently, "You stay with me, Kadan, eyes on me, don't you fucking dare!" he bellowed. "Push Inquisitor, quickly, one more push!" Gisele cried to her. Sera slapped her hands over her mouth as the baby's face became visible. "Bull, Bull look!" she cried, grabbing his arm. He shook her hand off, streams of tears now falling from his eye as he kept his gaze locked on Yennifer. By some miracle she managed to muster up a last bit of strength and pushed longer than she was supposed too. Silver stars danced across her vision, and the room erupted into cheers. Somewhere within the noise, Yennifer managed to pick up the crying. The most beautiful sound she'd ever heard, but she couldn't see where it was coming from. "Maker's brea-Yennifer?" Dorian shouted. "No, no, no," Sera whispered, her voice wobbling with emotion. "Don't go, Kadan, please don't go," came Bull's raspy voice. Her eyes closed and her head fell back against the pillow as everything went black and silent. Everyone in the room went quiet, the only sound was the whimpering of the baby. Mother Gisele held it in her arms, her face stricken with grief as she looked upon the Inquisitor. Her chest was still rising and falling, albeit slowly, barely. Dorian placed his lips against her hand, his eyes tightly closed, willing for her to open her eyes again. Everyone was devastated. "The Iron Bull? Would you like to hold the child?" Gisele asked gently, holding the baby out to him. He didn't take his eyes of his Kadan, lying motionless in the bed. "Put it in the crib," he whispered. "Stitch her up and then get out."


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is a bit of a different chapter, it's going to be from multiple POV's, none of which are Yennifer. It's all focused on the companions visiting her bedside whilst she is unconscious following the traumatic birth. Pretty sad to write to be honest! ENJOY!

How was this happening? It felt like it had all happened so quickly. One minute they were having the time of their lives, together and surrounded by friends, feasting and drinking and laughing. He had taken her back up to their room and one thing led to another and they were having some fun of their own. And then it all started to go wrong. She went into labour, and it was supposed to be the happiest time of their lives, they were together, their first child being born, and then everyone went into shock. She'd torn, the baby's head was too big for her to push out and her skin had torn like a piece of parchment. The blood poured out, thick and dark, almost black. He could remember all too vividly the sound of the blood dripping onto the floor, the deafening screams erupting from his Kadan. It was all a blur as Vivienne barged him out of the way, a hand on Yennifer's stomach, pulsing the pain relieving magic into her body. The inquisitor's eyes started to roll back into her head, Dorian was shouting at her, his voice rising a few octaves as he ordered her to stay awake. Bull rushed forward, grabbing the Tevinter mage by the collar of his robes and yanking him out of the way. He grabbed Yennifer's chin with his huge hand, shaking her head violently, her eyes wobbling in the socket. What was happening here? Why wasn't she responding? Bull felt tears welling up into his eye, his bottom lip quivering violently. He couldn't accept this. He had known this would happen. He had known all along that the baby would kill her. But she'd _promised_ him that she wouldn't die. She had grabbed him and told him that this baby was them, that something so perfect couldn't possibly be dangerous. The sound of people shouting and crying was deafening, but not to Bull. But he heard the cry. It started as a splutter, a cough, and then a squeaking, screeching cry, so loud and shrill, crying out to be held, to be in a warm place. The room went silent. He looked at Yennifer, a tiny smile flashed across her lips, and then her mouth slackened, her head lolled to the side, and she was gone. Everyone stared at her, ignoring the baby for a moment. Sera let out a choked, shocked sob that broke the silence. Dorian gasped, slapping his hand across his mouth. Leliana, Cassandra and Josephine had silent tears streaming down their faces, still clutching each other. Blackwall left the room, Cullen's face was hidden behind his hands. Mother Gisele shook her head gently. "She is not dead," came Cole's quiet voice, "But she is very far away from here." He left the room slowly and quietly. "Would... Would you like to hold the baby, The Iron Bull?" Mother Gisele asked, holding the baby out to him after swaddling it in a blanket. He looked down into the scrunched up face, tiny fists and feet kicking and punching the air. "Just put it in the crib, stitch her up and get out," he stammered, voice cracking. Cullen, Leliana and Josephine left quietly, their breathing ragged. Next Vivienne left, gently brushing her hand on Bull's arm as she passed him. Sera stood up and ran from the room, her cries being heard all the way down the stairs. Dorian knelt beside the bed and planted a kiss on his best friend's forehead, his lips pushed against her skin for longer than was expected. A tear ran down his cheek, dropped onto her forehead and ran down into her hair. He stood up and left, shoulders hunched and rounded. Gisele left last, but before she did she looked up into his eye. "I cannot leave a newborn babe here if you are not going to care for it," she said firmly, "I will take the child to the medical wing until you are ready." And with that she carried the baby from the room and left him alone. He looked down at her, laid on the blood soaked sheets, her chest rising and falling. She was breathing, albeit very slow, short, shallow breaths. Now that he was alone, he let the sob explode from his mouth. He pressed a fist to his lips, tears spilling from his eye. He had never cried like this before. Years and years of pent up emotion were pouring from him now. His shoulders shuddered and jolted, his face scrunched up tightly, pained moans escaping him. He ripped off his eyepatch so he could comfortably bury his face into his hands. He sat down on the bed next to her, tucking his hands underneath her and lifting her limp body into his arms. Her head settled into the crook between his neck and shoulders. He rocked her from side to side, breathing deeply, trying desperately to control himself. "Please, come back to me Yen," he whispered, his voice hoarse, "I can't do this without you, I can't go on. You're the only thing keeping me from burning out again. Don't go." Nothing. Nothing at all. He stayed there for hours just holding her, willing her to come back. The tears had stopped coming long ago, his eye dry and sore. He knew that she would hate him if he didn't go to see their baby. All he wanted to do was lock himself in this room, stay by her side so he was there in case she opened her eyes. But no, he had to see his child. He felt terrible. He'd frozen the poor thing out, hadn't even looked at it properly. He didn't even know if he had a son or a daughter. He sighed, shaking his head. He carefully laid Yennifer on the sofa whilst he changed the sheets, replacing the blood soaked ones with clean, crisp, fresh bedding, and then gently laid her back in the bed, tucking her in tightly. He kissed her lips gently. "I'll come back, ok?" he whispered, touching the the pendant around her neck. "No matter how far, remember?" She never answered, but he heard her voice in his head. _"No matter."_

"I feel it is only right that I tell you, Commander, it is not likely that she will wake up," Mother Gisele said quietly. Cullen rubbed the back of his neck and sighed, eyes tightly shut. He had been ready for a celebration, new life, an exciting new chapter in Yennifer and Bull's lives, but everything had gone horribly wrong. "Are you absolutely sure? She might wake yet," he replied. Gisele sighed and shook her head, "It had been five days, Commander, with no change, I am not going to hold out hope where there is none." He ran a hand through his hair, nodding in aggreement, "It's not right to hold her in limbo if she's not coming back," he said quietly, "Does Bull know?" Gisele nodded sadly, "He agrees with us, he doesn't want her stuck the fade, he believes she would want him to make this decision. I can get one of the mages to do it, it won't be pleasant, but it will be quick and painless. She will go to the Maker's side peacefully." Cullen shook his head, "She doesn't believe in the Maker..." Gisele nodded, "Correct, she does not, but that does not mean to say he does not have a place for her to rest," she said, "I am going to inform the other inquisition members of the decision that has been made, it will not be done until her friends have been to see her." Cullen nodded, and walked from his office in the direction of Yennifer's quarters. A short walk, but his legs felt like led, and he couldn't bring himself to accept that he was going to say goodbye to the inquisitor, that she was as good as dead now. When he reached her room, he walked over to the bedside, looking down at her laid their, quiet, serene almost. Her face was calm, she was breathing slowly, chest rising and falling rhythmically. "Maker's breath," he whispered, rubbing his eyes, "I'm sorry it came to this, Inquisitor." He chastised himself, he was always forgetting that she hated it when he called her Inquisitor. "So formal, Cullen! Call me Yennifer, please!" He smiled as he remembered her, how she had time for everyone, how she would always spend her free time wandering the halls of Skyhold, checking up on everyone, asking how their day was going, taking the time to ask them about their past and showing genuine interests in the stories they had to tell. He wouldn't be the man he was today if it wasn't for her. She had given him that push he needed, the reassurance that he could kick him Lyrium addiction. She had checked on him constantly to make sure he was coping OK, and he remembered the time she'd come and read his reports to him when the headache got to bad and his vision went blurry. The time he had woken up in the middle of the night, unable to sleep after suffering a horrible nightmare. She had just returned late from an expedition to the Exalted Plains, she was exhausted, her body aching from the long ride, but whilst everyone else retired to bed, she stayed up all night with him, listening to him relaying his nightmare to her, and she talked to him about her trip to the Plains, what had happened, all about the Dalish clan she'd met there, anything to take his mind off of his nightmare. She had escorted him back to his room, and sat with him while he fell back to sleep, and he woke the next morning to her curled up on his desk chair, she must have stayed there instead of walking back to her room. He had never met someone who took so much time out of their day to busy themselves with his problems. He was so grateful to have known her, and he wasn't sure what life was going to be like without his dear friend.

"You better wake up. Wake up! Wake up now!" Sera shouted at her, her hands itching to slap her face. "You have to wake up. I'll run out of arrows stopping the frigging mage from coming to kill you!" She felt hot tears running down her face. Why did she have to lose her closest friend? What kind of sick joke was this? Everything was supposed to be fine, they were supposed to be best friends for ever. How was she going to ask her to be a friend if she was dead? She had always pictured them being old and grey and still best friends, still making jokes about anything and everything. Who was she going to make cookies with now? She thought back to the day when she'd sat on the roof with Yennifer, told her all about her childhood, or what she remembered of it. How she hadn't judged her, hadn't laughed at her, hadn't told her she was being stupid. She had listened. She'd listened well, not interrupting or pretending to listen. She _really_ listened. She was one of the only people Sera had ever met that genuinely accepted her for who she was. She never looked at her and saw an elf. She looked at her and saw a friend. She never tried to force her to talk about herself, waiting for Sera to come to her. It was all supposed to be fine, but this wasn't fine was it? "Stupid frigging baby, gone and fucked everything up," Sera cried. She didn't want to go to the medical wing to see the baby. She had done her best to pretend it wasn't there. That it hadn't even been born. She tried to pretend that Yennifer had just fallen asleep and wasn't waking up. That was easier to accept than the reality, that she'd been killed by her own baby. That her own baby, who had taken refuge in her body, that had used Yennifer, had killed her once she wasn't useful anymore. She resented it, she wanted it to be taken away. She couldn't bare being in the same area as it. She stood up and walked over to the bed, laying down next to her friend. She put her arm across Yennifer's stomach and pulled her close, pressing her face into her shoulder. "Just come back, arse," she whispered, "Come back and be my friend."

"Vishante Kaffas!" Dorian shouted at the body in the bed. He paced the room, fingers pinching the bridge of his nose. He hissed out profanities in Tevene, each one more explicit than the last. He couldn't believe it. She'd been a blessing to him. She'd swept gracefully into his life, flirting up a storm with him, but never being angry or hurt when he broke it to her that he was not interested in women. She'd accepted him, still wanted him to be part of her life. He had told her about his father's letter, when she could have tricked him, dragged him there and pushed him into the ambush without any warning. But she had also implored him to make amends with his father. If not for her, he would never have spoken to his father ever again. She had helped to salvage the relationship, and although that relationship was still strained, he was eternally grateful for the part she played in helping to soothe the wounds Dorian's family had left on his soul. She had spared Alexius. She could have lopped his head off, made him tranquil, thrown him into a dungeon. But no, she allowed him to live out his days studying magic, something he'd always enjoyed doing. She'd given him a chance to redeem himself where most would kill him and be done with it. She'd only met Felix once, yet she'd cried with Dorian when the letter came about his death. She had allowed Alexius to go to the funeral, to grieve for his son, where most would have made him suffer more than was necessary. She had done so much for Dorian, inspired and encouraged him to save Tevinter. "If I can rally people, make them fight for the same goal, I have every faith that you can do the same," she had told him. "Maker..." he whispered, stopping next to her head and stroking her dark brown hair, "You've broken my heart, you awful woman. I didn't even know I had one until now, and I feel like I wish I didn't have one." He kissed her forehead again, before turning and leaving, his stomach churning and his eyes burning, tears pricking the backs of his eyes. He slipped on the bottom step, landing heavily on his backside, the force knocking a loud, ugly sob from his chest. He stayed there for a while, crying into his hands and rocking back and forth slowly. 

Bull waited until everyone had said their goodbyes before he went back in. He held the baby in his arms, wanting to show her her mother before the mages went in to finish it. He had a daughter. A beautiful daughter. She was big for a newborn baby, but still tiny. She hadn't gotten any horns, but she had inherited the pointed ears of a Qunari, and shared his grey, metallic skin tone. Her hair grown in soft, wavy tufts of snow white, and she had her mother's green eyes and cute little nose, and his thin lips. She was beautiful. He carried her up into the bedroom, resting her gently on the bed beside her mother. "This is her, little Kadan," he whispered, looking into the baby's tiny, curious eyes. They darted around, looking at all the sights. The big four poster bed, the fire crackling in the hearth. But one of her tiny hands reached out to touch Yennifer's hand that lay relaxed next to her. She wrapped a tiny little fist around one of the slender fingers, holding it tightly. Bull smiled, one hand stroking his Kadan's hair, the other hand tracing the peaks and curves of the baby's face with a single, gentle finger. He sat there for what seemed like hours, talking away to the baby, who didn't release her grip on Yennifer's finger once. He finally accepted that it was time, a long and labored breath leaving his chest. He leaned down to kiss Yennifer on the lips, taking her face in one of his huge hands and kissing her gently, slowly, with disbelief that this was the last time he would kiss her warm lips. "Goodnight, beautiful," he whispered, "I'll leave you with your necklace. I'll always be wearing mine. No matter how far apart we are, we'll always be together... See you on the other side, Kadan." He was just about to stand, to leave her there forever, when her breathing hitched, and a small cough spluttered from her lips. He spun round, eye wide, almost dropping the baby in shock. He watched as her brow furrowed, and it was only then he noticed her arm was raised off of the bed, her finger still clutched in the baby's fist. "Bull?" came the beautiful voice, the voice that he loved so much. It was almost a whisper, rapsy and quiet, but it was her voice. Her eyes opened, slowly, oh so slowly, but when they did, she looked straight to him, standing there holding their child, and the most incredible smile spread across her tired face.


	10. Chapter 10

"That's your mother," came the rough, deep voice she loved so much. She tried to reach out into the darkness towards him, towards his voice, but she couldn't. She could feel a pressure, something clutching her finger tightly. It wasn't painful, it was wonderful. Soft, warm, but firm. "You won't get to meet her, but I wanted you to see her. She would have loved you. She did love you. You never got to see the way she looked when she talked about you. I can't wait until you're old enough to understand, so I can tell you all about her. Bravest, smartest, strongest woman I ever met. Hell, bravest, smartest, strongest person I ever met." She listened as he carried on chatting away. Why was he talking about her like she was dead? She wasn't dead. She'd heard them all. Everyone had come to talk to her, but they all cried, they all said goodbye. _Wake up,_ she willed herself. She lay there, stuck for what seemed like an eternity, her mind seeming to become more and more alert the more she heard her Bull talk. Suddenly she felt her arm lifting, pulling her up. She coughed, spluttered, as if she had been held under water and was finally surfacing. Her eyelids parted slightly, but were shocked closed again as the bright light from the fire assaulted her sight. She squinted, coughed again, her throat drier than the whole of the Western Approach. When her eyes finally accustomed to the light, she looked up to see Bull staring down at her, an expression on his face that she would have expected had he turned to find a dragon in the bed. She looked into his eye, her heart swelling with happiness. But then she noticed her arm still held up in mid air. She followed her arm, to her hand, to her finger, clutched in a tiny grey fist. The little bundle in Bull's arms, her child. She felt her face open up into a huge grin as Bull knelt down beside the bed, bringing the baby close to Yennifer's face. She gasped, taken aback by the incredible sight of her own daughter. She pulled her hand out of the baby's grasp, bringing it up to stroke her soft cheek. Mother and baby watched each other, taking in the sight of one another. "Welcome back, Kadan," Bull whispered, handing the baby to her. She tried to answer him, but her voice came out in a thick, squeaky rasp. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had a drink. She took the bundle from him, gasping at the weight of the baby, heavier than most human babies, but still so tiny. "Let me go and get Mother Gisele, we've got some... plans to cancel," Bull said quietly, leaving her alone with the child.   
A tear rolled down Yennifer's cheek as she looked into her daughter's eyes. They were her eyes, almond shaped, slightly tilted upwards at the outer corners, a stunning, glittering emerald green. Her nose was definitely more human, a little button, with a soft sloped and perfect little nostrils. She had her father's thin lips and pointed ears. Yennifer ran her hand over the child's soft head of white hair, feeling for the bumps where a pair of horns would eventually grow, but found nothing. She was somewhat glad, after Bull had told her the day his own horns had grown through, it had been excrutiating when they pierced through the skin, and neither parent wanted that for their baby. The little girl stared back up at her mother, a curious expression on her little face. "I'm sorry I'm late," Yennifer whispered, her throat stinging with the exertion of talking, "But you've got me forever now." She smiled broadly as the baby yawned, her eyes closing slowly as she fell asleep against her mother's chest.  
"Oh, Inquisitor!" came Mother Gisele's relieved cry from the doorway. She rushed over to the bed, feeling Yennifer's forehead with the back of her hand, "I can't explain to you the miracle it is that you are back with us! How are you feeling?" "Strange," Yennifer admitted, "I remember pain and then everything went black and here I am... What happened exactly?" Yennifer listened with a stricken expression as Gisele told her how she had split, more than any of the nurses had ever seen when delivering a child. She had lost far too much blood and they could do nothing for her until the baby was out. She felt tears welling up in her eyes when she heard how it had become a unanimous decision to send her to the other side rather than wait around for her waking up when there was a chance it might never happen. The tears spilled over when Gisele told her she had feared for Bull's wellbeing, as he had severely damaged his hands punching a tree in the courtyard. "Thank you for the decision you made, Gisele," Yennifer said, clutching the revered mother's hand when she apologised for condemning her to death, "It wasn't an easy decision to make I'm sure, but you had the best intentions." Gisele smiled, and nodded her thanks to the inquisitor. She stroked the baby's forehead affectionately, "Have you decided on a name yet?" she asked. Yennifer shook her head, her and Bull had never discussed names, preferring to decide on a name after they had seen the child. "Would you like to feed her, Inquisitor? Cassandra had a whet nurse brought in from Nevarra to feed the child, but I'm sure it would be preferable to feed her yourself?" Yennifer nodded, pulling herself up into a seated position, wincing when she felt the sharp, stinging pain between her legs. She gasped, tears springing to her eyes once more. "It will take some time to heal, my lady," Gisele said, a look of pity on her face. She helped Yennifer take her arm out of the sleeve of her night shirt, revealing her breast and showing her how she should hold the baby to feed her. The baby latched on immediately, and Yennifer was overcome with love. She had never felt anything like this. She had always thought she would never have children. What with her father wanting to put her in a cloister, or failing that have her marry some noble she would never be attracted to. She had always pretended that motherhood was not for her, and had successfully convinced herself of that fact. But now, holding her own baby, feeding her at her own breast, she felt the unconditional love shared between mother and child. She loved Bull, damn it she loved him more than words could adequately describe, but this love was different. She had carried this person in her body for months, this little person had grown inside her, and she had almost died bringing her into the world. She realised then that you do not know real love until you have birthed a child.   
Over the course of that day, Yennifer had a great many visitors. All her friends came up to see her, all of them crying and laughing at the same time, and she lost count of how many times she was told her awakening was a miracle. Her advisers came first, the three of them chatting away to her about what had gone on whilst she'd been unconscious. Josephine dumped a huge sack on the bed, full of letters from all across Thedas, from noble families, princes, kings, queens, commoners, peasants, all sending their condolences to Bull, offering any help they could give with the new baby, offering to send whet nurses and nannies, one letter from some Antivan dowager offering to even take the child as a ward. "There was this one that stood out though," Leliana said, handing a small scrap of paper to Yennifer, a look of concern on her face, "You need to read this." Yennifer opened the letter, her eyes scanning across the page.  
To Whom It May Concern,  
All will be well,  
D W.  
"D W again!" Yennifer whispered, a tone of confusion to her voice, "Have we no idea who this is?" she asked, looking at Leliana, who looked at Josephine. The ambassador shook her head slowly, "I've done all the research I can on notable families and people in Thedas and cannot find any name that match up to the initials," she said. "It was not delivered by raven," Leliana continued, "None of my people recalled receiving it, it was placed in the letter box by someone in the castle, but we've had talks with everyone, no one is owning up to it." Part of Yennifer wanted to worry. Why would someone send a letter of congratulations AND a letter of goodwill and not put their proper name on it? What were they trying to hide? "Don't fret over it," she said, "It's not exactly threatening, just odd."  
Dorian came next, and at first he sat on a seat that was quite far from the bed, looking at the baby in his best friend's arms, surveying her and with a hint of longing in his dark eyes. "You're dying to hold her, aren't you?" Yennifer laughed, "You only have to ask!" He stood up and tiptoed gingerly towards the bed, sitting carefully beside Yennifer. "How do I...? I've never done this before," he said, holding his hands out, palms flat and facing the ceiling. "Well first of all, you want your arms to replicate a nice, warm cradle, not a pair of worried hands!" Yennifer giggled, gesturing to her own arms for him to copy. Once he had the hang of it, she leaned forward, holding the baby girl out to him. He scooped her out of her arms and held her close, clearly a natural. A warm smile spread across his face, a look of awe in his eyes. "Well, I do rather wish I had a painter here to capture this moment," Yennifer smiled, "Tevinter's finest, Dorian Pavus, holding an _actual_ baby, and looking great doing it." Dorian laughed, "Well of course, my dear, there's nothing I don't look good doing!" His face went sad then, and he looked back down at the baby, his brow furrowing slightly. "Something wrong?" Yennifer asked, concern in her voice. He sighed a big sigh and looked back at her. "I'm leaving for Tevinter in a few days," he said sadly, "I need to get back there and... sort some things out. I'm just glad I got to see you before I left, I'd have been devastated if I'd gone not knowing your fate." Yennifer turned away, not wanting to make him feel worse than he already did by letting him see the tears welling up in her eyes. He'd said all along that he would eventually go back home, but she'd never expected him to... actually go. He'd gotten so comfortable at Skyhold, he'd been putting it off and putting it off for months. "Yennifer," he whispered. He stood up and carried the baby over to her crib, gently lowering her onto the mattress. Yennifer hadn't realised but the child had fallen asleep in Dorian's arms. _He's good,_ she thought. He sat back down on the bed and took her hands in his own. "I want you to know, you've been the best friend I could have ever asked for. If not for you, I'd have never spoken to my father again, I'd have never gotten my family heirloom back... You've changed my life for the better, my friend. Knowing you has been an honor." She didn't know what to say back, but the tears spilled over, slipping down her face. His eyes were full of tears too. They rested their foreheads against one another, and sat like that for a while. That was the beauty of their friendship. Silence was never awkward, and so much could be said between them without saying a word. She'd been blessed to have a friend like Dorian. He always had her back no matter what, and throughout the battles with Corypheus he had never doubted her, always stood by her no matter her decisions. He always knew how to make her smile, and even when the future seemed bleak, even at the darkest times when all felt lost, he managed to make the situation brighter, mostly just by being at her side. She felt that she didn't deserve him, and she knew that him not being there would make each day a little harder to get through. They were interrupted by Sera, who came through the door yelling "Hurry up, Dorian, other people want to see Inky too you kn... What's going on here?" Her voice dropped to a worried whisper when she saw the two grief stricken friends holding each other. When Dorian explained the situation, Sera's face fell. "Well... that's shite!" she protested, "You can't leave, you're one of us!" Her bottom lip started to quiver and tears spilled out of her eyes. "Oh, Maker's breath not you as well," Dorian said, teary laughter escaping him. The three of them through their arms round one another for a group hug, all rocking together. "I'd say we'd come and visit you, but it would be a sore sight if we came to Tevinter," Yennifer laughed, "The outspoken elf and the human with the half Qunari baby, what a laugh!" They all shook with laughter, new, happier tears streaming down each face.   
"Oh, thank the Maker!" Cassandra gasped, rushing into the room and tripping over her Divine robes. "I was literally just heading out of the gates when they told you had awakened!" She had been getting ready to travel back to the Grand Cathedral, having already threatened some of her guards when they told her she had to leave. Yennifer had been told how furious Cassandra had been upon hearing the plans to kill Yennifer rather than leave her in limbo. She hadn't felt that it was just to kill her, to take her from the world before her time. She had been reluctant to leave because she knew as soon as she was gone, there was nothing she could do to protect Yennifer. Now, Cassandra's hat was hanging to one side, her robes torn slightly at the hem where she'd stepped on them and her face was flushed bright red. "Yennifer, I can only see you for a few moments, but I had to come back and check you really were alive," she said, "I feared they had lied to me, in an attempt to put my mind at ease." Yennifer laughed, "I don't imagine they'd want to risk your wrath when you found out the truth!" Cassandra laughed, standing up to straighten her hat. "I must go, my lady, but I do hope to see you again soon," she said quietly, "I will try to return in the future, or you could put your disbelief to one side and visit me at the Grand Cathedral!" They both laughed, "I think I'd burst into flames as soon as I walk through the doors," Yennifer giggled. "I know it will mean little to you but... Maker watch over you and your family, Inquisitor," Cassandra smiled. She held Yennifer in an embrace, then walked to the cradle to kiss the baby on the forehead, before leaving.   
It was a long day for Yennifer, and she was fighting the urge to ask people to stop visiting her, to come back tomorrow, because all she wanted was to be alone with Bull and their child, and to take a long bath. She felt filthy, and couldn't remember the last time she'd bathed. Bull asked some handmaidens to fetch a tub and fill it with warm water, and whilst they waited, he picked the baby out of the crib. "We're gonna have to give her a name at some point," he said, gently stroking his daughter's cheek with his huge hand. "Do you have anything on your mind?" Yennifer asked, because she did not have a clue what to name the baby, not wanting to give her anything too plain, or to choose a name that she would one day realise was awful when it was too late to change. "And, please, nothing dragon related!" Bull laughed, "Damn, I was gonna suggest Ataashi!" he said, and Yennifer couldn't tell if he was serious or not. "Ataashi," she whispered, "Ataa... Ashaa... Hmmm. Ashaanti." Bull looked up, a smile spreading across his face. He looked back down at the baby. "Ashaanti," he repeated. He said it again and again, and Yennifer couldn't deny it sounded wonderful. "Ashaanti?" she asked him. "Ashaanti it is," he replied. Yennifer loved the name, she wanted to run out onto the balcony and shout it into the Frostbacks. She pulled the covers off of herself, gasping slightly as the chilly air skated across her warm skin. "Whoa, careful, Kadan," Bull said, acting like a worried mother hen. Yennifer raised a hand and shook her head, "I've got to move at some point," she said dismissively. She gently swung her legs to the floor, wincing as she put her weight on her feet. She straightened up slowly, every bone cracking and clicking. She jumped as she felt the familiar sting between her legs, reminding her that this hot bath was not going to be fun. She hobbled over to Bull and sighed happily when he reached a hand out and stroked it down her back. She longed for him, wanting him to wrap his arms around her, to press her cheek into his warm chest, curl up in his embrace. She placed a kiss on his lips and gently stroked his cheek, her fingers running over the smattering of battle scars. "I'm so happy," she whispered, nuzzling her cheek to his. He gave a content grumble, his finger tracing tiny circles on the small of her back. "Me too, Kadan," he replied quietly, looking back down at Ashaanti, "Me too."


	11. Chapter 11

"It's well quiet without Dorian here," Sera said sadly, "I mean, he was a bit of a prick at times, all his grandstanding and 'ooh look at me, I think I'm great,' but he was _our_ prick, you know?" Yennifer sniggered, the elf sure had a way with words. "You've only just noticed how quiet it is?" she asked. It was almost six months since Dorian's departure, and there hadn't been many dry eyes when he did, which of course he loved. Yennifer had gone to help him back his things, sobbing all the while. Most of her crying was due to him leaving, but a fraction of it was from the headache she had from the leaving party Varric had thrown the night before. What started as a game of Wicked Grace and a few innocent drinks had turned into a game of truth or dare, which had Bull dared to run across the courtyard naked (which he accepted willingly) amongst other ridiculous dares and truth telling (Blackwall had been made to confess that yes, he had a fancy for Josephine, a confession that made the ambassador blush slightly, but Yennifer definitely remembered the two spending a lot of time together during the festivities.) More and more alcohol was consumed, Maryden the bard played some upbeat music in the tavern which ended up getting everyone, even Cullen, up on their feet, dancing on the tables, swinging round the pillars, dancing with each other. Yennifer hadn't enjoyed herself so much in ages, what with her motherhood duties. Mother Gisele offered to babysit Ashaanti, insisting that the parents needed to have a night off. By the time she and Bull fell into bed at some ungodly hour, her ears were ringing, but she had enjoyed the night for the most part. However this morning she was feeling absolutely rotten. Her stomach was dodgy, her head was pounding and she had bags the size of nugs under her eyes. Everyone was looking at each other with knowing glances that said _I feel your pain._   
When his bags were packed, Yennifer helped Dorian down to the courtyard where a carriage was waiting to take him to the docks, and to his ship back to Tevinter. Bull and Cullen helped him pack everything onto the carriage, and when he was all set to go he made his way around the companions, shaking hands, giving awkward hugs and accepting well wishes. When he reached Sera, he pulled her into a warm embrace, and Yennifer saw tears streaming down her face. "Swore I wouldn't frigging cry," she said angrily, slapping Dorian's back, "Hate you. No, I don't really!" When Dorian came to Yennifer, he sighed, hands on his hips, surveying her and Ashaanti, who was resting on her hip. "You," he said, reaching out to tickle Ashaanti's chin, "I'm going to miss you very much!" The little girl giggled happily. She loved Dorian. He had taken it upon himself to look after her as much as he could, taking her up to the library to read books to her that she never understood. He was adamant that she would remember what he read to her, that one day his readings would come in useful, even when Yennifer had to spell it out to him that she was six months old, she didn't have the capacity to remember the histories of Thedas. He turned to Yennifer then, and wrapped an arm tightly around her childless side. "Keep in touch, OK?" she said into his ear, "Write to me as soon as you get there, so I know you're safe." She kissed his cheek as he pulled away. "Yes ma'am," he replied, bowing slightly in jest. He climbed up into the carriage, and Yennifer felt a sob catch in her throat. The driver cracked his whip and the horses started to move, the carriage pulling out on to the bridge out of Skyhold. Dorian's face crumpled slightly as it dawned on him that he didn't know when he'd see his friend's again. He turned away when he could no longer make out the faces, knowing he must keep his eyes forward, or he would end up going back.  
Yennifer and Sera had just baked up a new batch of cookies and were now sat on the roof outside Sera's window eating them, watching Bull and the Chargers run around in Circles pretending to be horses in a race, Ashaanti riding her father's shoulders, Krem, Dalish, Skinner and Rocky all with Krem's stuffed nugs strapped to their back as their 'riders'. The little girl was laughing loudly, and everyone in the courtyard laughed every time her sweet little giggles filled the air. "So, Yen?" Sera said, "When's the last time you and Bull, you know... did the do?" Yennifer turned to look at Sera, eyes wide, a shocked smile pulling at the corners of her mouth. " _Did. The. Do?_ Did you really just say _did the do?_ " she laughed, shaking her head at her friend's hilarious choice of words, "It's not really a conversation starter, but if you must know, too long ago." Yennifer would be lying if she said she wasn't almost constantly desperate to just walk into their room sometimes, rip her clothes off and demand that Bull fucked her. They just never found the time to do it, and she knew he was desperate too. Yennifer was no longer breast feeding, and Leliana had come to her to tell her about a room she'd found, just below Yennifer and Bull's quarter's, that could serve as a nursery. Dagna had created a pair of strange stones that conveyed sound from one room to the other, so anytime Ashaanti cried, Yennifer could hear it in her own room. So it wasn't like they were going to traumatise their daughter should they start getting frisky, but it seemed like Ashaanti had something built into her, like she just _knew,_ everytime Bull and Yennifer started getting intimate, she would start to cry, and would need feeding or changing or rocking back to sleep. Sometimes she would cry for no reason. "This child is just cruel," Bull had said one night, rolling off Yennifer as she left him to deal with his dissatisfied erection.   
"Well," Sera started, "You know it's your birthday in a few days?" Yennifer didn't know if she liked where this was going. She had a sneaky suspicion that Sera had been thinking too much about her sex life. "Yes, I know it's my birthday soon..." she replied suspiciously. "Well, me, Varric and Viv decided to chip in together to get you an extra special present," Sera said, "We're sending you and Bull to this hotel just outside Val Royaeux. Three days will be enough for you both to get a good shagging, right?" Yennifer gasped, smacking a hand to her mouth. "So you've all been talking about my love life?!" she asked, rather loudly, as Bull and the Chargers looked up to see the commotion. Krem raised his hand guiltily, "Me and the boys chipped in for a room upgrade," he admitted. Yennifer crossed her arms, trying not to look excited at a weekend away with her man. "And who do you propose will babysit?" she asked. Sera and the Chargers all looked at her like she was stupid. "She's got enough aunts and uncles in this place, she'll be fine," Sera said. "Now go and pack, you'll be needing to leave tonight, your room is booked for two days from now!"  
"I can't believe I wasn't told sooner," Yennifer fumed as she searched her room for her trunk, "Where is my fucking trunk!" There was a light tap at the door, and Vivienne let herself in. "Darling, I took the liberty of packing your things for you, you do it ever so slowly, and your ability to fold clothes is terrible to say the least," the First Enchanter said in her usual, condescending manner, "The Iron Bull is waiting for you, I packed his trunk as well." Yennifer nodded, her face reddening slightly at the thought of Madame De Fer catching her in the midst of a childish outburst. She followed the elegant mage out of the room and into the great hall, waving and smiling and calling out farewells to the scouts, soldiers and people of the inquisition who saluted her as she passed and called out their goodbyes, wishing her an enjoyable trip. She wondered how many of them knew that her friends had only booked her this trip so she and Bull could catch up on the many months of missed lovemaking. She winced as she thought about the tavern conversations that would inevitably be had, people discussing their private affairs, probably in great detail. As much as it pained her to know they would be scrutinising the pair when they returned from Val Royaeux, watching their expressions and trying to see if they were walking funny, she would regret it if they had nothing to talk about.   
When she and Vivienne reached the courtyard, her heart was warmed by the sight of Bull holding Ashaanti in his arms, as it always did. She was big for her age, at six months old she was probably the size of your average one year old child, maybe even slightly bigger, and she was becoming increasingly heavy, Yennifer's arms often ached when she held her, switching her from one hip and arm to the other every few minutes, however in Bull's muscular arms, the girl looked no bigger than a nug. Bull was talking to his daughter, his voice a few octaves higher than usual, every sentence tailing up at the end. She was nestled in the crook of his elbow, the index finger of his other hand clutched in her tiny fist. His face was split in a smile, his eye almost squinting from the size of his smile, pushing his cheeks up. He was gently bouncing the baby in his arm, and she was giggling, repeating her first word, the only word she knew, 'Kadan.' She hadn't learned mama or papa, instead she had picked up Kadan, referring to both her mother and father with the word. Yennifer and Bull had both shed tears when she first said it, and Mother Gisele had been so taken aback she almost fell onto her backside at the discovery that this six month old child had already learned to speak a word. Bull and Yennifer were immensely proud, this pride growing every time someone exclaimed how rare and incredible it was for such a young child to find their speech. They had tried to get her to repeat more words, but she could not get the hang of it, choosing instead to just shout Kadan everytime they tried to get her to say something. Yennifer broke into a run, itching to spend as much time with her little family as possible, and planted a kiss on Ashaanti's forehead when she reached them. The little girl's white hair was longer now, almost shoulder length, growing with a gentle wave to it. She ruffled the hair gently, smiling when her daughter waved her free hand in the air, grasping at her mother's finger too. "Mama and Papa are going away for a few days," she said quietly to the child, "But Aunt Sera and Uncle Krem and all your other aunts and uncles are going to take extra special care of you!" Her voice started to grow thick. She'd not been separated from her daughter since the day she was born, so she'd never experienced the worry that something might happen while she was gone. The night before she had organised everything, from the bottles of milk from the cows they procured from a nearby farmer who willingly donated it for free for the baby, to the lists of all the soft foods that Ashaanti was allowed to eat, and she had practically chewed Sera and Krem's ears off telling them sternly how to care for the child. Though they weren't the only babysitters, they were the two who were charged with the responsibility of keeping Ashaanti alive. Even Bull, who was so laid back he was almost horizontal, had took his chargers to one side and all but threatened them that if he came back to find his daughter in any less than a perfect state, they'd better be gone before he found them. "I'm gonna miss you, little Kadan," Bull whispered, lifting Ashaanti up and plating a kiss on her forehead, another on her cheek and another on her belly. Krem came over, holding his arms out to take the baby from Bull, curtly nodding when Bull gave him the look that said he'd better protect her with his life. Bull took Yennifer's hand and pulled her down the steps to the courtyard. She spun round expecting to see Ashaanti staring after them, sad eyed and quivering lips, and Yennifer knew if she saw that she would cancel the whole trip and never leave, but she turned to see her daughter pointing at something back in the great hall, protesting and urging for Krem to take her in there. And with that Ashaanti was gone and they were off on their trip.  
A courier carriage from the hotel in Val Royaeux had come to collect the trunks and was now off ahead of them, probably to get to the hotel before they arrived. Bull and Yennifer mounted their own horses, Bull on his huge black war beast, Yennifer on her dainty, silvery mare, and side by side they clattered over the stone bridge that led in and out of Skyhold and out into the path that led through the Frostbacks and out towards their destination.  
"This is some fancy shit," Bull said after the hotel usher left them in their room, their trunks deposited on the floor just inside the door. Yennifer had to agree. All her years growing up in the grand Trevelyan estate could not have prepare her for the decadent furnishings of this hotel room. The walls were covered in white paper, decorated with gold paint in intricate patterns. The floor was coated in white fur from some soft, fluffy animal, and the bed was big enough to fit about four of The Iron Bull comfortably beside one another. From the ceiling hung a large, very expensive looking chandelier, the branches made from thick gold rods, each with a candle at the end, and from it hung thousands of tiny glittering crystals. She wondered to herself how much her friends had paid for this room, knowing it will have been astronomical, and she made a mental note to scold them all for spending such an amount on her. She kicked off her boots and let her bare feet sink into the soft fur carpet beneath her, letting out an appreciative sigh. She rushed forward and leaped on to the bed, gasping and laughing as she bounced back up like a rag doll before landing again with a soft thump. "I don't wanna kill the mood Kadan, but I'm feeling pretty, er... built up if you catch my drift... I'm just going to go and pay the bathroom a visit," Bull said from behind her. She sighed, shaking her head and laughing, " _So romantic_ " she said, listening as he trudged to the bathroom laughing to himself. Once the door had closed she walked across to her trunk to see what Vivienne had packed for her. "Oh Vivienne!" she whimpered, almost in despair as she picked out silky dresses, lace dresses, long dresses, short dresses, and an arm full of intricate and extremely skimpy Orlesian lingerie, most of which could be used to floss her teeth with. There were no breeches or shirts, clothes Yennifer was mostly interested in. She shook her head and picked out the least offensive dress, long and flowing, the material black and inlaid with tiny pieces of silver glitter. It showed off her shoulders and collarbones, with long sleeves. She found a pair of uncomfortable black shoes at the bottom, slipping them on quickly as she heard stirring from the bathroom. The door opened, and Bull's voice said "I'd steer clear of this bathroom until the smell goes - wow..." he trailed off when he saw Yennifer stood there, her long hair hanging long and lose around her bare shoulders, the black dress she wore clinging to her curves. He was speechless. "Shall we go to dinner, love?" Yennifer said, a wicked smile spreading across her face, satisfied with the reaction her outfit had achieved from him. "Yes ma'am," he replied.  
When they returned from dinner, stuffed full of incredible food and tipsy on fine wine, they were laughing, arms slung around one another as they stumbled back into the room. Bull had changed into black breeches and a huge black button up shirt that Vivienne had had commissioned especially for him - tight around the shoulders, his best feature as the First Enchanter always said, slightly nipped in around his waste, which was not as toned and flat as it once had been. The months after defeating Corypheus had meant less running around, less exertion and exercise in battle, meaning Bull's eating habits caught up with him, and he now had a little pouch of fat around his belly, all the better for snuggling up to him, Yennifer would say whenever Bull was having a moment of nostalgia for the days when his stomach was a rippling ocean of muscle and chiseled ribs. He tore off the shirt now, laughing as the buttons popped off and pinged into all four corners of the room. He turned to Yennifer, taking her face in one hand and leaning down to kiss her, softly first, then hard, hungry, passionate, their tongues fighting for space in one another's mouths. It had been so long since they'd been able to explore each other, appreciate their bodies, and this was apparent in the way their hands desperately scoured the skin of their lover. One of Yennifer's hands reached up to grab one of his horns, stroking the rough texture, feeling it scratch the soft skin of her palm. The other hand clutched the back of his neck, pulling him closer and deepening the kiss. His hand that held her face moved back to tangle in her brown hair, the other reaching around to slowly unzip the dress. It fell to the ground around her ankles, floating down to land in a cloud of black material, exposing her naked body underneath. He stepped back, admiring the view of her. Her body had changed since the last time he'd took the time to really appreciate her body, before her pregnancy. Now, her once small, pert breasts were slightly bigger, a few stretchmarks at the edges of the skin, her nipples darker and hanging slightly lower than they once had. Her stomach had not returned to it's previous flat, toned shape, now slightly rounded, more silvery stretchmarks snaked across the skin. He could see in her face that she was slightly insecure about the way she looked now, but to Bull, she was perfect. He sank to his knees infront of her, even at this level the top of his head came up to her chin. He wrapped his arms around her, huge hands coming to rest on her backside as he planted a kiss on every scar on her belly. He knew that most men, in their shallow ways, would look upon his woman as damaged goods, would look at the sagging breasts and scarred skin as marks of imperfection, but all Bull could think was how incredible she looked. This woman had been through hell and back throughout the years. This body had beaten the Venatori, been through the Fade and came out again on the other side, fought crazed wardens and red templars and darkspawn, dragons and other ferocious beasts and killed a darkspawn magister, surviving everything no matter the odds pinned against her. And then she had done the most amazing thing. She'd carried his child. This body before him had grown a life, kept it safe and warm, harbored it until it was ready to come in to the world. The body had almost given up in the toughest battle it had ever endured. But she'd come back. Again, she'd come back from the brink of death as she had done so many times before. These breasts had nourished his child, given her the food she needed to survive, been a soft, warm comfort to rest her head against during sleepless nights when nothing but a mother's presence could soothe her. And this was what Bull saw when he looked at Yennifer. "You are so beautiful," he whispered against her skin. Yennifer had been coming undone as soon as his kisses fluttered across her body. She sighed, throwing her head back, already feeling her arousal pooling between her legs. Her hands braced against his shoulders and she mewled softly as his kisses moved lower and lower, until he was gently moving her legs apart to lap up the warm wetness that was spreading from her sex. Her nails dug into his shoulders as he teased the sensitive nub between her legs, and she hissed through her teeth as she felt the knot behind her navel begin to strain, threatening to snap and explode into rivulets of pleasure within her. Bull could sense she was close, but he didn't want to keep her waiting. He knew how long she had waited for this moment, how her body ached to be touched, to be loved. Hell, he felt the same. He'd not thought of much else for what felt like eons, and all he wanted now was to bury himself inside her. His cock was straining inside the tight breeches, and he couldn't resist his Kadan much longer. He stood up and swept her into the air, laying her on the bed as gently as though she were made of glass. He knew that she needed intimacy, closeness, so he would wait until later to really let loose on her. Tonight he wanted to make love to her. He needed it too. He removed his breeches and positioned himself at her opening, and she gasped with anticipation when she felt the tip nestled in her soft folds. Slowly he pushed himself into her, giving a low growl of appreciation at how tight she felt, considering what she been through. Yennifer gasped through gritted teeth. It wasn't that it was painful, but there was some initial discomfort, not unlike the first time she'd slept with him. Once she had accustomed to him again, she reveled in the wonderful feeling of fullness, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his hips as he began to slowly rock in and out of her. They both moaned and gasped, hands exploring one another's bodies again, their breath coming in shallow huffs as they both came close to the end, quicker than anticipated. She whimpered beneath him, followed by a loud cry as the knot finally snapped and the incredible feeling spread through her lower body like hot water, and he followed suit, filling her with his seed. She felt the pressure as he filled her, and he rolled off of her, flopping on to the bed next to Yennifer, both of them sweaty and panting, and falling straight into the best sleep they'd had in a long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notice the mention of the chandelier in the room? You guessed it, I'm going to write my own take on why they could never top that time with the inquisitor hanging from the chandelier ;) ;)


	12. Chapter 12

"Good to see you, Your Worship."  
"Inquisitor!"  
"How is the child, Your Worship?"  
"Ah, Mistress Trevelyan, good to see you!"  
Yennifer was greeted by almost every person in the market square of Val Royaeux, and all the people wanted to shake her hand and talk to her. The regular folk at least. A lot of the nobles in the town didn't want much to do with her, looking at her with poorly disguised distaste. She frowned everytime she caught an irritated glance, not sure what she'd done to deserve such looks. She had left Bull in the hotel room, choosing to ride to the market square early to get some supplies for their ride home that afternoon. Their stay at the hotel had been glorious, they had never slept so well, partly because they weren't waking up every hour to tend to Ashaanti, and partly because they were exhausted from long love making sessions. The morning after their first night, Yennifer's body ached. "I'll have to thank Mother Gisele when we get back," Bull laughed, "I think she stitched you up tighter than before you had the baby." Yennifer laughed along with him, "I think you undid all her hard work!" she replied. She'd felt like she'd lost her maidenhead all over again, but the initial discomfort was quickly erased by her need for him, and nothing but pleasure followed in their next tumble between the sheets.  
When she got back to the hotel laden with bread, salt beef, fruits and vegetables, she started when she opened the door to find Bull pulling on two straps with loops on the end that were attached to the chandelier. "What are you doing?!" Yennifer said, rushing forward, "You'd better not break that, it's probably worth more than all the contents of Skyhold!" Bull laughed, "Don't worry, I've already hung from it, it's taken my weight so it'll definitely take yours." Yennifer's eyes widened, "What are you on about?" Bull reached out to pull the yellow, flowing dress over her head, and it was his turn to widen his eyes when he saw the red, lacy under garments beneath. "Well, we'll keep those on for now," he growled, before grabbing her in one arm and lifting her up. He lifted one arm and secured it in one of the straps, then did the same with her marked hand. Once he was finished, he stepped back to admire Yennifer, hanging in mid air from the chandelier. She smiled awkwardly, "I feel a bit ridiculous..." she said, trying not to laugh. He walked round her, eye trained on her. It was strange, their faces both on the same level when she was at this height. He carried on in a circle around her, reaching a hand out to stroke her soft skin with a single finger. He stopped behind her, crouching down so his face was in between her legs. He pulled them apart and buried his face in the lacy red material of the underwear Vivienne had sent with them. Yennifer pulled hard on the straps, yelling out and cursing through gritted teeth as he labored over her sex for what felt like an eternity. He groaned appreciatively into her soaking folds, the red material dripping with her growing arousal. She came about three times, but still he didn't stop. It was almost painful, she was utterly spent as her body jolted and jumped as though a mage were showering her with endless electric currents. Bull smiled into her, selfishly satisfied that he was able to elicit this response from her. Her thighs clamped around his head, and she could feel his rough horns scraping against her skin. "Please, Bull!" she gasped, pulling again on the straps, the metal buckles clanking against the gold rods of the chandelier. He finally relented, standing up behind her again, pulling the red under garment to one side so he could slide himself into her. She screamed out as he ploughed into her, hard and fast, their bodies slapping together loudly. His hands reached up to release her breasts from their red, lace confinements, and he grabbed them as they sprung free. He kept going and going, getting harder and faster, and she felt her body ready to explode. She began moaning louder, and he stopped moving. She gave a grunt of protest, and he pressed a kiss to her neck, laughing wickedly into the skin. He waited until her breathing started to slow, as the knot in her belly began to loosen, and then he started again, slower at first, then picking the pace up again... and then he stopped again. He kept this up for far too long, enjoying prolonging it far too much. Yennifer started to get annoyed and impatient, and when he stopped moving, she began to grind her body against him, almost bringing herself to orgasm a few time, but everytime she started that he landed a sharp _smack_ on her ass. The first time she did it she gasped and flinched, but she'd be lying if she said she wasn't enjoying it now, and it only spurred her to keep grinding everytime he stopped giving her what she wanted. When he finally brought her to the edge and allowed her to spill over, she squeezed her eyes shut and moaned through gritted teeth, exhausted. Bull walked round to stand in front of her now, reaching up to release one hand, resting it on his shoulder, then doing the same with the other. He carried her to the bed and placed her down on it. "I know I've just fucked you within an inch of your life, but you need to get dressed," he said, hands on hips as he stood over her, "I'll go give the trunks to the courier and get the horses ready, I'll see you at the stables in five." And with that he was gone, leaving her laid on the bed, naked and spread out like a starfish, slackjawed with stars swimming in her vision. He had a smug, satisfied smile on his face as he left the room.  
_To Mistress Trevelyan and Mr Iron Bull,_  
_I am writing to you to regretfully tell you that we will no longer accept your business at our hotel. During your stay we received thirty eight noise complaints from our other guests, and when the servants went to clear the room for the next guests, they had to stand on one another's shoulders to reach the straps you left on the prized chandelier, which may I add has incurred scratches and damage from the iron buckles. We thank you for your custom but beg that you do not return._  
The note that arrived from the hotel in Val Royaeux made Yennifer blush and Bull guffaw with laughter. It was embarrassing enough coming home to Skyhold to the hoots and whoops of the residents who clearly had vivid ideas of what they'd been up to on their holiday, and Sera asking Bull if he broke her in again, and now this note that confirmed that a bunch of people had heard them and complained just made it worse. She had glowered at Bull when he read the letter out to her, to which he replied, "Hey, don't look at me, you're the screamer!" She covered Ashaanti's ears, who was sitting on her lap. "Our daughter doesn't need to hear this!" she snapped, waving him away. They'd returned to a very excited little girl, and laden down with new toys for her that they'd picked up in the city. When Bull saw her he leaped off his horse and ran across the courtyard to sweep her out of Sera's arms, swinging her around in the air and laughing at the squeals of joy. Yennifer followed him, handing the reins of her own horse to the stable boy waiting patiently beside her. She ran over, smiling when Ashaanti saw her and shouted "Kadan! Kadan!" Bull handed their daughter over to her mother, and Yennifer hugged Ashaanti close, kissing her cheek over and over again. "I've missed you so, so much little one!" she gushed, showering more kisses all over her little face.  
The years that followed were quiet ones, the Inquisition forces were still seen around Caer Bronach, Griffon Wing Keep and Suledin Keep, keeping the peace around Southern Thedas, fighting off potential threats, or stopping them before they had a chance to raise their ugly heads. But since the day Yennifer noticed the dissatisfaction of the nobles in Val Royaeux, things only started to get worse. Some of the Ferelden nobles had sent letters asking the inquisition to stop throwing their weight around Thedas, telling them to rein in their forces. It seemed that something ominous was beginning, but Yennifer couldn't put her finger on what the problem was. It wasn't until a letter arrived at Skyhold, just over three years after Corypheus' defeat. A letter from Cassandra. It had been brought to Divine Victoria's attention that Ferelden and Orlais were not happy with the Inquisition. The Fereldens were apparently at their wits end with the Inquisitions army still being out in force. The Orlesians were afraid at how large the Inquisition had gotten, and wanted to rein them in and 'bring them to heel.' Cassandra, at the insistence of the Ferelden and Orlesian leaders, was calling an exalted council, during which the fate of the inquisition would be discussed and decided. "We must go," Josephine said, as Yennifer read the letter, "The fate of the Inquisition is at stake here, if we want to carry on as we are we will need to be respectful of those we share Thedas with." Cullen snorted and shook his head, his hand reaching up to scratch the back of his neck in agitation, "We don't owe the people anything!" he snapped, "Would it have been more 'respectful' to just leave Corypheus to do what he wanted? We saved the whole rotten pack of them, they wouldn't be here to complain if it weren't for the Inquisition!" Leliana sighed, "Cassandra is associated with us, it will make her job a hell of a lot easier if we just go and endure it, Commander," she said. Yennifer sighed, looking at her advisers, gently bouncing Ashaanti on her hip. "Leliana's right," she said, nodding at the spymaster, "We owe it to Cassandra to just go and do our part, she started the inquisition, after all." Cullen shook his head, "And if they dismantle us?" he asked. "They won't dismantle us if we show them we can be flexible, if we taken on board what they say and show them we are not to be feared, that we are not self serving," Josephine chimed in. Yennifer nodded again, "Well, let's inform our people and get ready to head to the Winter Palace... Again," she said, rolling her eyes. She really hated that place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know the events of Trespasser happen two years after Corypheus was defeated, but my story ran on a bit longer than intended in that respect. So yeah, my timeline isn't exactly canon, but hey, this is fan fiction!


	13. Chapter 13

"Form up!" Cullen called out to the soldiers who were marching alongside the mounted commander, ambassador, inquisitor and Iron Bull. The soldiers halted, and the group waited patiently for the supply carriages carrying the traveler's belongings. The group parted to allow it to pass. "What's the plan, Commander?" Yennifer asked Cullen, pulling her horse up next to his. "The majority of the soldiers are going to go ahead with the supply carriage and get set up ready for our arrival, the rest are going to accompany me, you and Josephine to the Winter Palace, and escort us in for the... parade," his mouth twisted around the word. He did not see the point in grand standing and making such a ridiculous, poncey entrance, but it was expected of them, and by the Maker, he would endure. Yennifer turned to look at Bull, who had ridden up beside her, Ashaanti nestled between his legs on the front of the saddle. "I'm gonna ride ahead, Kadan, get settled in with the little one and see my boys," Bull said, "I'll see you there, OK?" Yennifer nodded, leaning across to kiss Ashaanti on the forehead, then up to plant a kiss on Bull's lips. He kicked the horse into a steady canter which caused Yennifer to yell, "Not too fast!!!!!" but her shout was drowned out by the sound of the beating hooves and Ashaanti's squeals of gleeful laughter. Yennifer sighed and shook her head. She didn't know why she worried, Bull would never put their daughter in any danger. If anything, he was worse than her for worrying about the child, always waking up at least four times a night to check Ashaanti was still breathing, watching her carefully to assure her chest was still rising and falling, holding a hand under her nose to make sure that air was still coming out of her. He would cut her food into manageable chunks, not too big but not too small either, to stop her from choking. Yennifer had even caught him hording every kind of medicine and elixir for every kind of ailment a child could possibly have in a bag he carried everywhere, just in case he needed to treat her. She should have known he'd be like this, he was like a protective mother hen defending her chicks whenever he was with his Chargers, and to be honest she was glad he was so protective. Yennifer was a bit more laid back, which was shocking to her. She'd expected to be the crazy, over protective parent, having always been sure Bull would be the more laid back one. They worked well together though, and parenthood came naturally to both of them.  
"Another parade, another bloody negotiation," Cullen whispered in an agitated tone as he, Josephine and Yennifer rode their horses through the gates of the Winter Palace of Halamshiral, Inquisition soldiers lining the path. Yennifer hadn't understood the need for the protection, but Cullen, and even Josephine, insisted on it. The pair of them were sure that there would be people here so opposed to the inquisition that they might resort to drastic action and try to assassinate the inquisitor herself. This had silenced Yennifer, and when they entered the gates, she definitely felt the presence of the soldiers necessary as hordes of Ferelden and Orlesian nobles eyed them with suspicion, distaste and outright disgust. "Smiles everyone," Josephine chimed in her usual light and airy tone, "We must be careful how we present ourselves!" Cullen sighed and shook his head, "Why did Divine Victoria call the Exalted Council?" he asked, "She's kept Orlais from bothering us for the last two years." Josephine rolled her eyes and sighed, she had lost count of how many times she'd had to explain to everyone why the council was happening, but still, she answered, "At increasing political cost, yes. She has done all she can, but the exalted council has become necessary. Orlais would control us, and based on their many marriage proposals they have specific plans for you," she said to Cullen, who scowled and turned away. Yennifer could almost hear the thought run through his mind: _Fucking Orlesians._ Josephine raised a hand and waved her fingers at Arl Teagan, the Arl of Redcliffe, who scowled at her and turned away. "Our real concern in Ferelden," she continued, "They would see us disbanded entirely." Yennifer sighed and shook her head sadly. She didn't want to disband the inquisition. The inquisition was her family, it was all she'd known for years. It would be a kick in the teeth to have to leave all behind. When they reached the end of their parade, three elven stablehands ran forward the relieve them of their horses, and Yennifer dismounted, walking into the palace ahead of Josephine and Cullen to gather her bearings and see the conference room she would soon be seated in to discuss the fate of the Inquisition. The room was silent, serene, chairs lined the grand floor, and there at the front was the head table where the Divine and the Ferelden and Orlesian leaders would be seated. Then her eyes fell upon the small table and the two chairs that sat lonely in the middle, where she and Josephine would later sit. She felt daunted, as though she would be sitting there to be pulled apart and interrogated. She sighed and looked down at her marked hand. The magic glowed green, the familiar crackling sound sprung into life. "Inquisitor!" came a familiar voice. Yennifer quickly hid her hand, clutching her fist to her chest. She looked up to see Mother Gisele approaching her. She had left Skyhold sometime ago, going back to traveling Southern Thedas, helping with any left over stragglers from the war, treating any wounded, delivering food to those who needed it, and recruiting anyone who wanted to join the Inquisition. "It has been too long," the revered Mother continued, "I hope the time has been kind to you." Yennifer smiled, "How have you been, Mother Gisele?" "I spent the summer in Emprise Du Lion, distributing food from the Exalted Plains. The Dales are finally recovering!" Yennifer smiled. Gisele was a hardworking woman, always working tirelessly to make sure others less fortunate than her were well cared for. "Corypheus left a great deal of damage for us to repair. I appreciate all your efforts," she said gratefully. Mother Gisele bowed her head in thanks before replying, "And I yours, Your Worship. I should mention that your forces at Suledin Keep were of great help. Please give my thanks to Baron Desjardins," she said, "Divine Victoria asked me to greet you on her behalf. She is currently attending to the Ferelden ambassador's concerns..." Yennifer rolled her eyes at the mention of Arl Teagan. She could already sense he was going to be a pain in her arse and she hadn't even met the man yet. She regained control of herself when she saw Gisele's eyebrows shoot up. She smiled, trying to pretend the Mother hadn't seen. "You can probably just call her Cassandra in private conversation," she laughed. Mother Gisele's eyes widened, " _You_ can, Inquisitor, I prefer to use her Divine name," she laughed then, "Our last Divine once joked about why I insisted on calling her Justinia. She called it my way of reassuring her I had not forgotten who was in charge." The two women laughed together, and Mother Gisele went on to talk about how Cassandra had taken well to being Divine. She also told Yennifer of how many of her friends had arrived for the talks, to come together in one place again and meet up. It had been a while since they had all been together again. Sera had gone back to doing her Red Jenny missions, spending more and more time away from Skyhold. Varric had gone back to Kirkwall to try and restore order. Blackwall had gone to meet with his former men, who knew him as Thom, to reconcile with them and make peace. Vivienne had decided to leave Skyhold and return to court, working to help restore the Circles. And then there was Dorian, whom Yennifer hadn't seen for ages. She hoped he'd returned as well. Gisele never mentioned him at first, talking about a Tevinter ambassador who had arrived for the talks. "Tevinter have sent an ambassador?" Yennifer asked, confused as to why the Imperium were getting involved. "Yes Your Worship, Dorian Pavus has taken the chance to return from Tevinter... It will be good to see him again, I owe him an apology." She bowed her head, and Yennifer scoffed, once again forgetting that Mother Gisele was not a joking type, and quickly straightened her amused smile out. "You're going to apologise? To Dorian?" she asked. Mother Gisele frowned, and straightened her back so that she stood slightly taller. "I have little patience for those who cannot admit they are wrong, Inquisitor, myself included," she snapped. Yennifer bowed her head in apology. "Thank you for your time, Mother Gisele," she said, sensing their conversation had come to an abrupt and awkward end. She was just about to turn and leave when Gisele made to speak again. "A final question, if I may Your Worship," she said, "This Exalted Council... Ferelden would have the Inquisition disband. Orlais sees it as another feather in a chevalier's helmet... What do you wish to do with the Inquisition?" Yennifer sighed and shook her head. What did she want to do with it? She didn't want to disband. So many people relied on the Inquisition for protection, many of them would be homeless and out on their own if not for the safety of the numbers. Many relied on the Inquisition as a family, most of the soldiers having lost their families in the war, with no one to go to if the Inquisition was no more. And she herself would have nothing to do with her life. What purpose would she serve? She'd be lying, however, if she said there wasn't some part of her that would like to lay down her weapons, leave Skyhold and the days of warfare behind and just go and live a quiet life with Bull and Ashaanti, growing old together and watching their daughter grow into a woman, seeing her flourish and become an adult. But no. The Inquisition was needed. Everyone in the Inquisition had experience fighting darkspawn, dragons, demons, corrupt Wardens, and she was sure that there would be no shortage of ills to fight in the future. Thedas needed the Inquisition. "The Inquisition still has work to do," she said finally, "We won't let someone's fear push us into disbanding." Mother Gisele smiled and nodded. "Then I wish you luck in the negotiations to come," she said, "Maker watch over you, Inquisitor, I will not keep you any longer." And with that, Gisele left Yennifer alone.  
Yennifer spent the next few hours making her way around the palace grounds greeting her friends. First she saw Sera, who practically leaped into her arms. They chatted about Sera's escapades as Red Jenny, the towns and cities she'd visited, the nobles she'd pissed off. The conversation was pretty tame for Sera, who eventually lived up to Yennifer's expectations and suggested they go and prank some of the prissy nobles swanning around the palace grounds. When they sat back down, both breathless from laughter, Sera's smile slowly faded. "You know it's ending right?" she said sadly, "We can say it won't, but nobs in places like this? All they do is end things." Yennifer sighed. She had thought long and hard about the inquisition ending, and Sera was one of her biggest concerns if that were to happen. Sera had come to them, she'd all but begged to join. She'd been alone, traveling around looking for things to do, and the way her face had lit up when Yennifer accepted her and recruited her. When Corypheus had been defeated, the night they all celebrated, she could feel the panic radiating from Sera, as much as she tried to hide it. She was terrified of being told she was no longer needed, of being left with no one again. And when she'd gone back to taking Red Jenny contracts, she'd made Yennifer promise that the Inquisition would just up and leave Skyhold without telling her. If Ferelden got what they wanted, if they disbanded the inquisition, where would Sera go? "They'll try a leash... or worse," Sera continued, "But maybe you aren't ready to quit just because some Lord Piddlebits is scared of us?" The end of the sentence tailed up into a hopeful question, a plea almost. Yennifer shook her head, "Do I look like I'm ready to retire?" she asked, her heart warming slightly as she saw the relief wash over her friend's face. "Point is, sooner, or... _sooner,_ all this changes, and you've helped me understand... too much! So it's my turn to help you," Sera said. Yennifer watched as random people from the crowd approached their table, dropping small red coins in front of her. "See, I have these friends," Sera continued, "And all of them were the wrong sort of whatever. Their place changed, or it never was, so together we made an 'us.' Everyone needs an us, and when the world is done saying no and calls you the wrong sort of whatever, maybe we can be that us for you? What do you think? Want to run some rooftops as a Jenny?" Yennifer was touched, a smile spread across her face. "All I have to say is, call me Red friggin' Jenny" Yennifer laughed. Sera's face lit up and she picked up her tankard, raising it up in the air. Yennifer followed suit, shouting "To all my friends!" The pair took a long drink, and Sera smiled, a genuine happy smile. "Always and ever, Yenny. Always and ever." Outside the tavern, Maryden the bard could be heard breaking into song, " _Sera was never an agreeable girl..."_ Yennifer turned to see Sera run and grab the bard's lute and throw it across the courtyard. "Creepy song is creepy!" she shuddered. Yennifer took that as her moment to leave, and as she stepped outside she noticed Cole watching Maryden carefully. "Everything alright, Cole?" she asked. "Sweet songs, poignant pain plants joy that grows later. She doesn't see me. I help her help people," he said quietly. "I can see that," Yennifer replied when Maryden turned to wave at her, but looked straight through Cole. "You're smart and kind, you're worthy of true love," Cole said thoughtfully. Just then, Krem walked over towards the tavern. "Yes, him. He'll be gentle. So will you," the spirit continued, watching as Krem approached Maryden and smiled politely. Yennifer watched, a small smile spreading across her face as Krem and Maryden began conversing. "You're with the Chargers, are you not?" Maryden asked, "I've seen you in the Skyhold tavern where I sing." Krem smiled politely, "Oh yes, I.. I love your songs," Krem replied, a slight hint of nervousness in his voice, "Sometimes I'd sit up on the chair to take a better look at... your... songs..." Yennifer laughed quietly, putting her head in her hands. At least he tried. "The Chargers have their own song, if you'd like to hear it some time?" Krem continued, and Yennifer sighed in relief at his glorious save. Maryden smiled and nodded, and the pair chatted a little while longer before parting ways. "Good," Cole said, a satisfied smile in his voice. "Good work!" Yennifer said, turning to see Krem walking towards her. "Your Worship, good to see you!" he said, grabbing her in a one armed embrace, "Listen, the Chargers need your help, we've got the Chief a dragon skull for his birthday, wanted to sneak it in, could you distract him?" Yennifer smiled and nodded, making her way back into the tavern to sit with Bull, who was at the bar alone. She had treat him to a wonderful surprise for his birthday. She ached between her legs when she remembered the hours she'd spent luxuriating over every inch of his huge body, how she'd ridden him until the pair of them were sore, how she'd slapped his hands away every time he reached up to touch her. He'd groaned in some parts annoyance and some parts arousal at her refusing his touch, and even though it was his birthday night, as soon as she allowed him to touch her, he'd flipped her over and took her from behind, pinning her into the mattress with his weight. When she reached the bar stool next to him, she turned to see where Krem was. He waved and gave her a thumbs up, and she sat down and rested her head against Bull's shoulder. "Where is Ashaanti?" she asked when she realised their daughter wasn't on his lap. "Oh, Josephine and Red took her for a bit, they wanted to babysit for a while," he said, planting a kiss on her head. She smiled and began racking her brains for something to say to keep his attention on her. "You know, I've been asking around about new equipment... for us," she said, trying to put on her best seductive voice. She cringed inwardly, _what the fuck was she saying?_ "There's this merchant in Val Royeaux who sells this silver rods with little cuffs that work like stocks." She didn't actually know if there was a merchant who sold such things, but she just rolled with it. Bull nodded, considering what she'd said, "I prefer rope work myself," he replied, "Knots are easier to adjust, and more intimate. But if its stocks you want, you're worth it. Maybe the merchant will throw in some clamps too." She made a mental note to hope the merchant didn't throw in clamps, they sounded painful. She flicked her eyes to the tavern window and saw the Chargers were still struggling with the skull. She turned back to Bull and desperately tried to think of something else. "Did you know Ferelden has it's own names for lords?!" she exclaimed, trying to sound riveted by her own conversation, "The country is divided into Teyrnirs, governed by Teyrns. Inside those are cities and arlings ruled by arls. And then there's the bannorn. It's a large part of the countryside ruled by multiple banns." Wow, she had even bored herself with that one. Bull sighed, clearly also bored, "Good to know..." he grunted. She sighed and shook her head, "I'm sorry, I can't do this!" she whined. Bull smirked, "Sure you can!" he said, "They must have that thing half way across the room by now!" She scowled at him. "Ben Hassrath, remember?" he laughed. "Surprise! Happy birthday Chief!" came Krem's excited shout. Bull turned round, his face suddenly a mask of joy and surprise, a skill that would definitely serve him well as a parent, Yennifer thought. "Aww you guys! You got me!" he exclaimed, walking forward to admire his new gift. Yennifer left him to enjoy some birthday drinks with his friends.  
She spent hours wandering around talking to everyone, from Blackwall, or Thom as she kept having to be reminded, to Josephine and Leliana who assured her Ashaanti was having lots of fun with her honorary aunties. She met Vivienne who dragged her into a spa where they put cheesewheels on her eyes and Vivienne tutted in disgust when Yennifer dared to ask what the cheese was supposed to do. She found Cullen near the gazebo with a dog, scratching it's belly and throwing a ball for it. It was good to see him with a real smile on his face. He rarely smiled, and every time he did manage to crack one, Yennifer could see why he had so many admirers. She walked over to him and the dog leaped up and came to jump excitedly round her feet. She was taken aback by the sheer size of him. Clearly a mabari war hound, but what was he doing in Orlais? "The merchant said his owners probably grew tired of the novelty and left him here," Cullen said sadly. "Poor boy, how could someone not want you?!" Yennifer said in a high pitched voice, scratching the dog behind his ears. He barked in appreciation. "Can't you offer him a home? I'm sure he'd be a welcome addition at Skyhold," she said, willing the commander to agree. She'd always wanted a dog, and it would be great to have one running about the halls back home. "Another Fereldan trapped at the Winter Palace... I couldn't leave him to that fate. Besides, I think he likes me," Cullen smiled. Yennifer returned his smile, "You could bring him home, he should know where he came from," she replied. "I did promise my sister a visit," Cullen said, turning to the dog, "She might try to spoil you, remember who you report to!" he warned in jest. Yennifer laughed, leaving the commander to enjoy his new dog.  
She made her way up into the upper parts of the grounds and spotted grand clerics and Chantry guards standing around the Divine, who was deep in conversation with Arl Teagan. She made her way over and saw Cassandra's face light up when she spotted her friend over Teagan's shoulder. "Divine Victoria!" Yennifer called, "Am I interrupting?" She clearly was, but Cassandra shook her head. "Not at all," she replied, "The Arl of Redcliffe was just telling me of events in Denerim. He represents Ferelden at the summit." Teagan turned to look at Yennifer with a cold gaze. "Inquisitor. Good to meet you," he said. _Lies,_ Yennifer thought. She could see in his face his distaste for her. "How are things in Redcliffe?" Yennifer asked. "Blessedly quiet," the Arl replied, "The mayor sends his greetings. Redcliffe remembers it's savior." Yennifer stifled a laugh. "Can I borrow the Divine for a moment? I won't take too much time," she said, turning back to Cassandra. "Very well, we'll continue this later Your Perfection," Teagan said, bowing and turning to leave. When the Arl was out of earshot, Cassandra's face was grave as she began. "I am supposed to be impartial while speaking for the Chantry, but I confess that neutrality is beyond me," she said, "I may be the Divine, but I will always be your friend, and I can hardly ignore the fate of the Inquisition I began." Yennifer nodded, "Is there anything I can do to make your job easier?" she asked. Cassandra grunted and rolled her eyes. "You could find me a sword and something to hit," she said. Yennifer laughed and shook her head. It was good to see her friend had never changed. "I must attend to other matters... If you need me I am ready to assist, unconditionally." And with that she left Yennifer alone with Arl Teagan, who swooped in to talk to her again. "I'm glad you finally arrived, Inquisitor, the crown is anxious for news," he began. She took a deep breath and turned to smile at him. "And your thoughts on Ferelden's position?" she asked. He crossed his arms and looked at her distastefully. "The breach is long gone, yet Skyhold's army remains," he said, "Ferelden can't continue to ignore soldiers on it's borders." She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. The cheek! "I appreciate knowing where Ferelden stands," she said quietly. "You are owed that, Inquisitor, especially here. These Orlesians will talk circles around you before you get a simple greeting out," Teagen replied, "I won't keep you longer, we'll have words enough when the Exalted Council begins." He turned and walked away, no smile and well wishes or any 'good luck in the talks.' _Wanker,_ she thought to herself. It was going to be difficult to pretend she liked him. She walked over to where Duke Cyril, the Orlesian representative Josephine had told her about, was stood chatting to someone. As she drew closer she noticed it was Dorian. Her heart leaped and her face split into a grin as she waved at him. Dorian smiled back, pushing the Duke out of the way an running over to grab her into an embrace, swinging her around in a circle. "Yennifer! How long has it been?!" he exclaimed, "Don't actually tell me, I despise feeling old. It's good to see you my friend." She laughed stepping back to look at him. He hadn't changed a bit since she'd last seen him, and she had missed him terribly. "Thrilled to be at the Exalted Council, Lord Pavus?" she asked, smirking. "Oh, riveted," he laughed, "Orlais wants the Inquisition tamed, Ferelden wants it gone, the Chantry meddles and Tevinter sends but one ambassador. That's me, by the way, 'a reward for my interest in the South.'" Dorian made his excuses then, as Duke Cyril was hovering in the background. "Call on me as you like," Dorian whispered, before leaving her to deal with the Duke. As soon as Dorian was gone, the Duke approached her, his disposition far more friendly than the Arl's. "Inquisitor. Duke Cyril Montfort, member of the Council of Heralds and Lord of Chateau Haine," he said, "I have long followed your work. It is extradordinary." Yennifer remembered how everyone had said Orlais wanted to control the Inquisition. She eyed him suspiciously, "Is that sentiment shared by the rest of the court?" she asked. Cyril laughed, "Of course! Orlais only wants to offer respectful guidance to the inquisition." She couldn't see his expression behind his ridiculous mask. "Does Your Grace feel the Inquisition should continue to rule itself?" she pressed. He sighed before replying, "I would rather see the inquisition join us freely than be carved into pieces for the chessboard," he said, "I have not forgotten Justinia's death. I had friends who perished at the Temple of Sacred Ashes. More than the good you have done, it is the good we may do together I don't wish to lose. Whatever happens Inquisitor, I wish you well."  
When she found Dorian again, it seemed Yennifer was interrupting a party of sorts. Her lover was laid out flat on the floor, snoring softly and muttering in his sleep. Sera was reclined on a seat, sipping at her drink and nudging Bull with her foot, laughing every time his hand sleepily swatted in the wrong direction. Dorian was glaring at Varric, clearly annoyed as the dwarf clocked Yennifer approaching and began a speech. "As the most eloquent dwarf you know, Sparkles-" he started, but Dorian cut him off. "Varric, there's really no need..." Yennifer walked closer, frowning in confusion. "What's going on?" she asked, looking to each face for answers. "Princess! You're just in time!" Varric continued, "Sparkles, the Imperium doesn't deserve you, or want you. It may even kill you. But we'll miss you, if it counts." Yennifer's frown deepened as she turned to Dorian, who was glaring at Varric, furious. The dwarf looked at Yennifer and winced. "Aaaaand, you didn't know," he said, "Come on, folks, lets take the party elsewhere." Sera got up and left, but Bull, still comatose on the floor from drinking all day, obviously stayed where he was. "Ah, just leave him there," Varric said, before turning to leave as well. Dorian turned away from Yennifer then, walking away slowly. She followed him, listening as he began to explain. "It's... true," he sighed, "When the Exalted Council has ended I'm going back to Tevinter... For good, this time." Her heart sank slightly. "You know I'll miss you," she said quietly. "Naturally," Dorian smirked, but his face fell quickly, a sad, pained expression on his face. "My father is dead," he continued, and Yennifer gasped, slapping a hand to her mouth. She'd known they weren't close, but still, losing a parent wasn't easy, she imagined. "He was assassinated, I believe. I received notice this morning, a perversely cheerful letter congratulating me on assuming his seat in the Magisterium. I didn't even see him when I was home. I had no idea he'd leave me everything." Yennifer's heart broke for him. She could hear the sadness, the regret in his voice, and she hated seeing him like this. "This... ambassadorship, his doing I'm told. He must have wanted me away when the trouble began. I have to go back." He carried on, explaining how he was now a fully fledged magister, how he planned to kill the people who killed his father, and the people who gave Tevinter a bad name. He became more passionate, more like himself when he spoke of the work he was going to do alongside his friend back home, Maeveris Tilani. "You'll need more help," Yennifer said, "I could come and offer some help?" Dorian smiled gratefully but shook his head, "Not this time my friend." She remembered back to Skyhold, when he'd told her he needed to fix Tevinter on his own, and now, even though she desperately wanted to go with him, she had to respect his wishes. "I wish you safe travels, and the best of luck," she smiled sadly. He laughed, "Oh I'll need it, thank you. Magisters are tricksy bastards," he reached into his pocket then, pulling out a strange, magical crystal and handing it to her, "A present... A going away present. It's a sending crystal. Amazing what friendship with the Inquisition gives you access to. If I get in over my head, or your overwhelmed with sorrow for the lack of my velvety voice... magic!" She grinned, slightly shocked at such a generous gift. "What?!" he exclaimed, "You didn't think I'd just leave and you'd never hear from me again, did you? You are my dearest friend... Perhaps my only friend. That will never change, no matter where we are."  
"Remember, no bold statements, just listen to what they have to say, and just listen, even if you don't like what they say, just listen, we want them to see us as a mature organisation," Josephine hissed as the Divine, the Arl and the Duke took their seats in front of them. Yennifer glared at her, silencing her with a look. She'd had lost count of how many times Josephine had said this now. Silence settled around the room, and all eyes were on Yennifer and Josephine. "Thank you, your Holiness," Josephine started, "Now, Arl Teagan, as to your concerns..." The Arl didn't even wait for Josephine to finish, cutting her off rudely, and already Yennifer was bristled. "The Inquisition established an armed presence in Ferelden territory," he snapped, "You outright seized Caer Bronach in Crestwood!" Yennifer clenched her fist. _Sorry, Josie,_ she thought. "It was being held by bandits!" Yennifer snapped back angrily, "Would you like us to give it back to them?" The Arl straightened his back in attempt to look more authoritative, "Your help was appreciated two years ago, Inquisitor," he said, "Now order has been restored, and yet you remain. Invading under the pretext of restoring order is exactly what the Grey Wardens did, and we exiled them!" Yennifer wanted to throw something at him desperately. "Now the Inquisition is doing the same thing, with Grey Wardens in their ranks!" Duke Cyril raised a hand to speak, "Your concern is ill founded," he said, his voice noticeably more calm than the Arl's, "The Grey Wardens have proven themselves time and again." Teagan snorted, "Of course Orlais tolerates the Inquisitions interference," he said, "They are the only reason the empress still sits on her throne!" Yennifer lowered her head into her hands and sighed as the two ambassadors bickered between each other. Josephine rested a hand on her shoulder, and Yennifer shook her head, her face furious. An elven Inquisition guard approached her then and crouched to whisper in her ear. "Pardon me, Inquisitor," she whispered, "Sister Leliana wishes to speak with you, in private." Yennifer nodded, grateful to be able to escape the cloistered heat of the room. She turned to Josephine and whispered, "Something has come up, handle the room." Josephine shot her an angry glare, but Yennifer left before she could say anything. "Perhaps it would be best if we took a short recess," Cassandra said as Duke Cyril and Arl Teagan muttered complaints.  
When she got outside, she knew where Leliana would be straight away as she laid her eyes on the crowds gathered around one of the small buildings in the grounds. She pushed through the crowd to find Leliana standing over a dead body. Yennifer's eyes widened, and she slipped in, closing the door behind her. "What the... who is this?" she snapped. Leliana shook her head. "A Qunari warrior, in full armor," Leliana wondered aloud, "But how did he get here?" Yennifer rubbed her forehead, the headache she got from the council worsening with the confusion of the body. "We need to find out what's going on," she said, "Can Josephine manage the diplomats while I look around?" Leliana nodded, "She will be fine, it's all speeches and posturing for the first few days anyway," she said, "I will ask Cassandra to extend the recess for as long as possible... I will also have our friends ready themselves for battle if need be." Yennifer's head whipped round, "You think that's likely?" she asked panic rising in her voice. Ashaanti was here. There surely wouldn't be a battle here, would there? "I think the Exalted Council will be more exciting than we expected," Leliana replied, crouching down to inspect the body further. Yennifer looked down and saw a trail of blood leading to the body. It was the best lead she had, so she followed it out of the door and through the courtyard until she came to a wall covered in a trellis. She climbed in carefully when she spied a bloody hand print halfway up. When she reached the top of the wall, she pulled herself through the window and saw the blood trail lead through a grand doorway into a small room. She gasped when she saw an active Eluvian standing against the wall. Speechless, she shook her head, turning to get back to Leliana quickly. _If I'm going through this, I'm not going alone,_ she thought. She told Leliana of the Eluvian, and then went to change from her uncomfortable formal wear, into her light armor and strapped her daggers onto her back. She gathered Bull, Sera and Dorian to join her. She hugged Ashaanti closely, leaving her with the Chargers, who promised to take the best care of her in the absence of her parents. "We'll be back soon," Yennifer whispered. Ashaanti smiled and replied "Yes, mama." Her speech had come on in leaps and bounds. She could now speak almost fluently, and when asked what mother's name was, she would say "Yenny" and her father's name was "Bull Bull." Yennifer swept her up again and held her close. She had believed this council would be over quickly, but knowing she would be going through an eluvian, not knowing what waited on the other side, not knowing if she would ever find her way back, it felt wrong to tell Ashaanti they'd be back soon. She sighed and handed her to Bull, who picked her up in one hand. "You be good from Krem de la Krem, OK?" he said, kissing her on the cheek. Ashaanti nodded and wrapped her arms around her father's neck. He reluctantly handed her back to Krem, and they were off. The four of them stood in front of the eluvian, none of them wanting to step through first. Yennifer relented, sighing and stepping forwards. "Off for another adventure, then," she said quietly, as the magic mirror engulfed her.


	14. Chapter 14

When she emerged on the other side of the eluvian, Yennifer saw they were in the Crossroads. It was vast, a slight chill in the air, the ground they stood on appeared to be floating. She could see other islands floating all over the expanse ahead of them, each bearing it's own eluvian, but there were no paths to these eluvians. The islands were just there. Bull came through next, followed by Dorian and then a very reluctant Sera. Dorian had to reach back through the eluvian to pull her through. "Where are we?" Bull asked, a tone of unease in his deep voice. "It's the Crossroads," Yennifer replied, "Though it looks nothing like it did when I came here with Morrigan before." Dorian rubbed his chin pensively, "Perhaps you entered a different part of the Crossroads?" he offered, "It could be similar to the Fade... it could be infinite." Sera took a sharp intake of breath. "Shit, fuck, arse, shut up about the Fade!" she hissed, panic rising in her voice. "Stop worrying, Sera," Yennifer said gently, "We're all here, we'll all look after you." Yennifer looked ahead and saw that the blood trail from the Winter Palace carried on here, leading to another eluvian. She shrugged and walked towards the mirror. "Let's find out where our dead Qunari came from," she said, stepping through the mirror.   
They ended up in a stone hallway, cells that resembled prison cells on either side of them, an opening ahead that led outside. The group approached the opening and passed another dead Qunari on the way, all eyeing the body suspiciously, all worried about what they were going to find here. Bull took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. "Oh, this is gonna be fun!" he said, trying to lighten the mood of dread that had settled over everyone, "The old team back together to kick some ass. How about it Kadan?" Yennifer smiled and shook her head. "Oh, you're doing the nickname again?" Dorian commented. Bull puffed his chest out proudly, "Hey, it's a mark of honour for the woman I love!" Sera laughed wickedly. "I'll bet! Get on her, and stay on her!" the elf laughed. Bull sighed, "This was _supposed_ to be about hitting things," he growled. Yennifer reached out and stroked his arm, and he turned to smile at her. "It is pretty great being out with you all again," she said, "I've missed our travels!" Everyone nodded in agreement. "As have I," Dorian replied, "But I'd appreciate if we could get this over and done with as soon as possible. Whatever was able to kill a Qunari in full armor is not something I much want to run into." Bull snorted, "What do you know? It could be some Vints, and we all love killing Vints!"   
When they reached the end of the hallway, the sun outside was blinding. Fields surrounded the tower they had emerged from, and rows of trees spread into the distance as far as the eye could see. A sudden explosion somewhere in the distance caught all their attention. "What was that?" Yennifer exclaimed, walking down the steps ahead of her. The way was blocked, empty space where a bridge should have been, a podium with a slot for some kind of mechanism she was sure controlled the bridge. On the other side, they could see Qunari fighting with some strange figures they couldn't make out. "We need to get over there," she said, turning to see if there was another way across. They ended up going through yet another eluvian to see if they could find the mechanism for the bridge, and were greeted on the other side by strange, purple figures, almost spirit like and clearly elven. A tall one stood at the forefront holding a huge maul over his shoulder, and behind him was a row of archers. "What do I say?" Yennifer whispered to Dorian. The mage shrugged, a look on his face that asked 'How do I know?" She stepped up to the spirit, hoping it spoke first, and it did. "Atish'all vallem. Fen'harel elathadra," the elf said. Yennifer's eyes widended. She didn't know a word of the elf language, and she felt panic rising in her throat as she eyed the formidable weapon in the spirit's hand. "What does it want?" she whispered to her companions behind her. The spirit continued, "Nuvenas mana helanin, dirth bellasa ma," it said. Dorian stepped up beside her then. "What does the Well of Sorrows tell you? Surely the voices can tell you what to say?" he said. Yennifer closed her eyes, allowing the voices to whisper to her, and she repeated what they told her, "Ar-melana dirthavaren. Revas vir-anaris," she said, the words sounding strange coming from her mouth. The spirit nodded. "Amae lethalas," it replied, before turning and walking away from her to stand with the archers, who lowered their bows and stood aside. The group let out a collective sigh of relief. "It was some ritual, something of a conversation between friends. The spirit mentioned Fen'harel... if Mythal's Well of Sorrows know this, does that mean they were close?" she wondered aloud. The group made their way to a strange mosaic, and the mark on her hand interacted with it. She felt magic wash over her, conveying a message of welcome, and images flashed through her mind, images of elven slaves fleeing to this place long ago. A passage of words were felt, rather than heard. "Fen'harel bids you welcome," Yennifer spoke the words so her friend's could hear, "Rest, knowing the Dread Wolf guards you and his people guard this valley. In this place, you are free. In trusting us, you will never be bound again." When she regained control of her thoughts again, Yennifer shook her head, as if to shake the words from her body. "That was like... veil fire..." she said, "It claimed... This was a place of refuge for elven slaves. This whole valley was a sanctuary created by the Dread Wolf, Fen'harel..." This didn't make sense. In the little she had learned from Dalish of the legends the clans believed, Fen'Harel was the god of misfortune... She didn't know what to make of this, but ahead she saw another eluvian had been unearthed, and she pressed forward, passing through it.  
They traveled through more doors, her mark interacting with each one, and giving her more learning. She learned that Fen'harel was no god, but a mortal man who only wished to lead only those who would help willingly, not wishing to take away their free will. The final door told her of the fury of the elves aimed at something called the Evanuris, people who supposedly claimed divinity, but were mere mortals simply powerful in magic. The elves were teaching those who joined them how to unravel the lies of the evanuris. "Whoever ran this place was trying to rebuild the slaves' confidence," Bull said, "They were trying to get rid of old propaganda." Yennifer turned to him, nodding, "If that's true, Fen'harel was teaching these freed slaves the truth about these 'false gods.'" When they stepped into the room behind this last door, there was a strange, ornate structure shaped like an odd tree, and in the centre of it a green light was flickering wildly. Yennifer saw the mechanism beneath it that she was sure would lift the bridge. She ran forward to grab it, and the green light crackled and spat the closer she got. "Yen..." Bull said uneasily. The light exploded and her mark reacted, a searing pain shocking her all the way up to her elbow. She cried out in pain and clutched her arm. "Yennifer!" Bull ran forward and crouched beside her, where she'd slid to the floor. "You alright, Kadan?" he asked, grabbing her and looking into her eyes. "I'm fine," she said quietly, resting her hand upon one of his, "That hurt though..." Dorian walked forward then, crouching beside her and taking the marked hand in his own. "It seems the mark was affected by this strange magic..." he said quietly. Yennifer, Bull and Sera all stared at him incredulously. "Well, now we have a firm grasp of the obvious," Yennifer said, but she laughed all the same, and Bull pulled her up to her feet, "Come on, let's get back to the bridge."  
When they finally got back to the bridge, Yennifer carefully slotted the mechanism into the podium and they all stood and watched as the bridge erupted from the water beneath them, cranking up and crashing into place. They stepped on it gingerly, half expecting it to collapse between them. When they reached the other side, they noticed that halla were prancing around them. "Where _are_ we?" Sera asked, but she was cut off from continuing by shouts of " _Bas_ " repeated over and over again ahead. When they looked up they were greeted by a group of Qunari soldiers rushing towards them, blade bared. "Don't attack, they might be asking us for help with what killed the other dead soldiers," Yennifer said, willing this to be true. Bull shook his head, "They are attacking, draw your weapons." She looked up at him, his face stern as he pulled his axe from his back. He turned to look down at her, "Now!" he urged, and she unsheathed her daggers. The first Qunari to come at them was a slender female, but even as slim as she was, she was still huge. Toned arms wielded a wicked looking broad sword, and strong, thick legs carried her across the space towards them. She swung her sword at Yennifer, who raised her daggers to deflect the blow, sparks erupting from the clashing metals, and knocking the small woman backwards. She dodged the next blow, ducked under the one that followed, and sliced her dagger across her attacker's leg. The Qunari woman didn't even flinch, but Yennifer did not stop to ponder this, burying her other dagger into the woman's side, the second one slicing across her throat. The Qunari slid to the ground, body flinching a few times before becoming still. A male and female soldier closed around Bull, and he acted quickly, grabbing the male by the horn and yanking his head to one side, bringing his axe down into his collarbone with such force that the blade exploded from the other side of the soldier's neck, killing him instantly. Without missing a beat, Bull yanked the axe from the soldier, spattering blood and gore all over the place, and burying it into the female's skull with a sickening crunch. Sera rained arrows on every approaching Qunari, hitting one in the eye and halting him where he stood, getting another one in the crotch and laughing maniacally as he clutched his hands between his legs, the next arrow striking perfectly in between his eyes. "Shot!" Bull shouted, laughing. "Friggin' yes!" Sera replied. A huge hulking figure of a man charged at Sera then, but before he could strike her a fiery rune appeared beneath his feet, erupting into flames and burning him alive, the smell of his boiling flesh seeming to panic his fellow soldiers. The party cut through them quick enough, taking a few scratches and scrapes, but nothing life threatening... yet. They thought it was over, but Yennifer was knocked flying by the sheer force of a soldier she hadn't even noticed, wielding a massive shield. With the wind knocked out of her, she struggled to stand up. Dorian placed himself between her and danger, sending rivulets of ice and sparks of lightning at the two shielded soldiers, anything he could use that didn't get deflected by the shields. Bull managed to get behind them, burying his axe into one's back, bringing him to his knees for a spectacular decapitation. The head, garnished with a thick, plated helmet, clanked on the floor as it bounced past Yennifer. By the time she got to her feet, the last soldier was dead, six arrows protruding from his back. "Well, now it's starting to feel like old times," Bull said, putting his axe back on his back. "Don't be putting that away yet, I have a feeling that wasn't the last of them," Yennifer said, moving towards the Chantry-like building ahead of them. And sure enough, when they entered they encountered more Qunari soldiers, mostly similar to the ones they had previously fought, but they were joined by some wielding huge, long spears that whistled through the air towards them, sharpened to a devastating point. They noticed the elven spirits were helping, fighting the Qunari fiercely. The group made their way into the throng, and Yennifer felt Dorian's protective barrier engulf her. They cut through the wave of soldiers as quickly as they could, moving through the building to find more of them waiting. With the help of the elven spirits they cut through the soldiers easily enough, leaving two of the spear men. A spear came whizzing towards Yennifer, and Sera fired an arrow at it, knocking it slightly off course, but it still caught her arm, slicing across the surface of her skin. The blood spilled out of the wound and she cussed loudly, ignoring the pain and throwing one of her daggers through the air. It swung towards the spear man, a steady _whomph_ sound on each spin. When it finally met it's mark, it lodged into the Qunari's throat, buried up to the hilt. The soldier staggered backwards, reached up and pulled the dagger out. "Big mistake!" Yennifer laughed, as a waterfall of thick, dark blood gushed out of the wound and the enemy bled out quickly. Dorian waved a hand at the remaining spear man, flinging his walking bomb ability at him, and clenched his fist, causing the explosion to go off, sending limbs and chunks of gore splattering all over the floor. Bull's eyes widened in awe. "How have I never seen that one before?" he said, a wicked smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, looking at Dorian with admiration. The mage straightened out his sleeves, smiling proudly, "Because you're always too busy swinging that useless hunk of metal around to notice the real genius at work," he said. Bull snorted, "OK, the bomb thing was cool, but don't _ever_ call my axe a useless hunk of metal again," he said. Yennifer shook her head, "Now, now boys, stop your bickering, we have work to do," she said, walking up towards the end of the hall, where a huge Fen'harel statue loomed above them ominously. A small stone pillar stood nearby, an inscription on it reading "The Dread Wolf keeps its gaze on the one light that illuminates the way forward." Dorian paced around the statue, looking at the several sconces hanging on the walls. "It's veil fire," he said, and he walked around lighting each one. "There's a button on the statue," Sera called out, and when she pressed it the veil fires all went out. "Well, what a waste of time that was!" Dorian snapped, agitated. Sera went to snap something back at him when Yennifer walked towards the statue, looking up into the face of the wolf. "Shut up, both of you!" she said, "Look at it's face... it keeps its gaze on the light that illuminates the way forward..." She looked at the eyes, then turned to look at the sconce opposite. "That one," she said, pointing to the sconce second along on the left hand side. Dorian lit the torch, and Yennifer turned to Sera, gesturing for her to press the button. When she did, the eyes lit up and the statue slowly began to slide to the side, revealing a hidden passageway beneath. At the bottom of the stairs, they encountered another mosaic door, and again, Yennifer's mark reacted with it. She felt the feeling of determination wash over her, saw the image of the elven slaves, but they were different. They were armed and armored, no longer wearing their vallaslin on their now clear faces. "The brand of the Evanuris can be lifted from you, that all may know you oppose their cruelties," she said aloud as the words appeared in her mind, "None here are slaves. All are under our protection. All may choose to fight." The door opened to reveal a weapon stockroom, bows and arrows, spears and swords and shields lined the walls. "So the Evanuris were just powerful mages, not gods," Dorian said. Sera snorted, "The Dalish. Are going. To shit themselves," she said. As they made their way through this new cellar, they came to an area not unlike a barracks. Rooms filled with bunk beds lined each side of the room, and in front of them they saw a new Eluvian. But before they could get through it, they were intercepted by a new group of Qunari fighters. About six small Qunari wielding daggers sprung around them, dancing in circles around them and slicing at them with wicked daggers. But they were accompanied by the biggest Qunari Yennifer had ever seen. He was almost twice the size of Bull, and wielding an enormous war hammer that could flatten her with just a gentle swing. Bull went straight for him, but it became apparent very quickly that he could not match the strength of this foe. Yennifer tried to keep her attention on the dagger wielding enemies, but her attention kept turning to Bull, watching as he swung his axe, but he was too slow for the bigger soldier, who hit him with blow after blow, the war hammer striking Bull in the rib, the shoulder, the chest. She could see he was beginning to lose his energy, and she couldn't let him be harmed. She sliced her opponent across the face, knocking her to the floor before stomping her boot on her head, feeling the bone crush beneath her foot. She ran at the huge Qunari, leaping up onto his back and jabbing her two daggers deep into the back of his neck. His hide was thick, and the blades didn't go in deep enough to kill. A huge hand reached up and grabbed her by the back of her neck, pulling her off of his back and holding her out in front of him. He dropped his hammer and raised his fist, ready to pummel her face. She struggled, and Bull stood, swinging his axe again, but the huge Qunari lifted one leg and kicked him across the room, too far away to get back to Yennifer. "Bull!" she choked out as she watched him struggle to get back to his feet. Everything seemed to slow down then. Sera and Dorian were occupied, their backs turned on her, unable to see the situation. Yennifer looked back at the fist that was coming towards her face, closed her eyes tight and braced herself for the world of pain that was surely coming. But it never came. She heard a sickening, wet thud sound and she was falling, the hand still grasping her neck even when she hit the ground. When she opened her eyes she realised the hand was no longer attached to the Qunari's body, and he was staggering backwards, gaping at the stump where his hand had once been. She looked to see that Bull's axe was still on the ground where he'd dropped it before being kicked away, and Bull was suddenly there, grabbing the axe and swinging it with all of the might he had left to bury it in the enemy's jugular. Sera and Dorian, both having defeated their own foes, turned and gasped at the scene behind them. "How did you do that?" Yennifer asked when Bull ran over to sweep her up off the floor. "We are in a weapons room, Yen," Bull laughed, motioning towards the row of axes hanging on the wall. She allowed him to help her to her feet, all four of them panting from the exertion of the fight. She looked up at Bull, gasping when she saw how much he was bleeding. A worried hand reached up to cup his cheek. "Are you OK? I thought I was going to lose you," she whispered. He leaned down to kiss her gently, "I'm fine, Kadan, I wasn't going anywhere, and even if I did," he reached down to flick the dragon's tooth at her neck, "No matter how far, remember?" She smiled, and kissed his hand, "No matter," she replied. "When you two are done having a moment, there's a letter on this one," Dorian announced, pulling a piece of paper out of the pocket of one of the bodies. He handed it to Yennifer, and she saw the letter was written in the common tongue, but also in another language. "Qunlat," Bull confirmed.   
_I have read your reports. Station your people in the abandoned elven towers by the lake. It is a short distance from it's entrance to the mirror that connects to Halamshiral. We will need the space to lodge our people after infiltration is complete._  
At the bottom of the paper was a map of the crossroads, with an arrow pointing to the eluvian that led into the Winter Palace. Bull was standing over her, reading the letter over her shoulder, and as her blood ran cold as she realised what this meant, he realised it too and went stiff beside her. "They are planning an invasion..." Bull said quietly. Dorian and Sera exchanged a worried look. "Look around for anything else that could help us out," Yennifer commanded, moving through the rooms in the cellar. Soon, Sera was calling them all over, she'd found another letter, this one splattered in blood.  
 _Two hours ago, an unknown intruder penetrated our defenses. Masked and cloaked. A mage. Used magic to awaken spirits and turned them against us. Intruder moved as though they knew this place, fled after the spirits awoke. Dozens dead. Spirits keep attacking. Engagement not reco-_  
The rest of the letter was unreadable, covered in blood that was still wet. "So, those spirits were brought back to life by some mage..." Sera said quietly, "Who do you think it was?" Yennifer shrugged, "I don't know, but we need to get back to the Winter Palace, we need to tell them what we've found. If the Qunari are planning an invasion we need to make sure they are warned of the danger."


	15. Chapter 15

When they got back to the Winter Palace, Yennifer went straight to check on Ashaanti, Bull in tow, despite Cullen, Josephine and Leliana's protest that they needed to have a meeting to discuss what happened. The parents ran, hand in hand, to the tavern where the Chargers had been babysitting. Yennifer rushed over to Rocky, who was bouncing the child, who was almost half the size of the dwarf, on his knee. Sweeping her up into her arms, Yennifer held her daughter in a crushing hug. Bull wrapped his arms around both of them. "It's gonna be alright, you know," Bull whispered. Yennifer took a deep, shaky breath. "We need to get her away from here," she replied, "We can't have her here, what if there's an invasion? What if they take her? What if they _kill_ her?" Everyone in the tavern had gone silent, turning to stare at the panic stricken parents clutching their child whilst still in full armor. No one knew what was going on, and a sense of unease settled over the room. Bull's voice came out in a growl then, "I won't allow it," he hissed. Yennifer pulled away from him to stare into his eye, "If they succeed in their plan, we can't stop them," she said slowly, her voice thick with the effort she was putting in to stop herself from bursting into a fit of hysterical sobbing. She clutched Ashaanti tighter, the child staring from her mother to her father, a worried look on her face. "Mama?" she said quietly, resting a small, grey hand against Yennifer's cheek. Yennifer took a deep breath and forced a smile to her face as she looked at her daughter. "Everything's fine, sweetheart," she chirped, "Mama just has to go and speak with her friends, but Papa's here, he'll look after you." She planted a kiss on Ashaanti's forehead, pressing her lips to the soft, sweet smelling skin, before handing her to Bull, sharing a concerned glare with him, and then turned to find her advisers.  
"One dead Qunari was bad enough, but now we have more, and they're hostile," Cullen said angrily from the other side of the table. Yennifer watched her advisers, watching the lines of concern on Cullen's forehead, the way Josephine scrunched her fingers in worry, the way Leliana shifted from one foot to the other. They were worried. "This makes no sense," Josephine said, "The Qunari may not be friendly to the Inquisition but... they have no reason to attack us." Leliana rubbed her chin - it was clearly annoying her that she didn't know more about the situation, and she was visibly uncomfortable. "They also have no reason to be here, or using eluvians," she added. Yennifer crossed her arms and sighed, "I just wanted this Exalted Council to go smoothly," she huffed, wondering why nothing could just be easy for once. Josephine looked stricken, and Yennifer knew what she was going to say. "We must ensure the Qunari do not disrupt the negotiations," the ambassador said, "The Exalted Council is in a _very_ delicate situation." Cullen and Yennifer rolled their eyes, and Josephine stared at them incredulously, unable to believe they didn't take the talks seriously. Cullen turned to her, his nose crinkled in distaste, "I'm sure you can soothe the nobles ruffled feathers while we solve the real problem," he said, almost nastily. Yennifer was honestly taken aback by Josephine's response. She raised her quill and pointed it in Cullen's face, snapping back at him, "Not when the Inquisitor insults everyone by walking out in the middle of the talks!" Yennifer lowered her eyes then, hoping Josephine didn't turn her disappointed gaze upon her. "Our only advantage is that Orlais and Ferelden are divided in goal and grievance," the ambassador continued, her calm, soothing tone taking over again, "If they unite against us, Divine Victoria will have no choice but to support their claims. We could lose _everything_." Yennifer sighed. She felt terrible for the situation she'd put Josephine in. She never showed it enough, but she was so grateful for the ambassador's skills. She had always worked tirelessly to put plans in motion, to contact allies, and she was invaluable and absolutely indispensable to the Inquisition. No matter her workload, no matter how much her hand hurt from writing, no matter how tired she was, she never complained, she never stopped, she never gave up. Josephine was proof that sometimes the pen was mightier than the sword. "I know we're asking a lot of you ambassador, but I promise we won't make this any harder for you than necessary," Yennifer said quietly. Josephine nodded, "My apologies-" she started, but Yennifer held a hand up. "Please," she said, a tired smile on her face, "Don't apologise." Josephine returned the smile, "I will attend to the Exalted Council," Josephine finished. Leliana turned to leave, after promising to continue investigating the threat. "I'm going to return to the crossroads," Yennifer replied, "We need to find out what the Qunari are doing, and why they attacked."  
"Why have you brought me back here," Sera snapped as she followed Yennifer, Bull and Dorian back through the eluvian, which had now been moved into a more private location, somewhere innocent passers by wouldn't stumble upon it. "Because I know you love these kinds of places!" Yennifer replied, desperate to keep the morale of the group up, keeping them upbeat and clawing back the rapport of the old days, when they used to trudge through the rocky hillsides of the Hinterlands, or the rainy shores of the Storm Coast. Back then, even though things were bad, they always found a way to have fun, from playing games, chatting about their past, singing songs together and just enjoying one another's company. Now though, it felt difficult. A cloud of dread hung over their heads. "Oh, ha ha, very funny your Inquisitorialness," Sera replied, giving Yennifer a shove. The two women laughed, and Yennifer turned to collide with Dorian, almost knocking him off the edge of the path. He had stopped dead in his tracks beside Bull, the pair of them staring into the distance. "That path there," Dorian said quietly, pointing out to a pathway that had materialised, seemingly out of thin air, "That wasn't there before, was it?" Yennifer stepped around him, squinted over towards what had before been just a lone island. She saw the familiar glow of another eluvian, and she grabbed Dorian's arm, pulling him closer to point out the shapes in front of it, blotting out parts of the light. "Do you see them?" she asked, her cheek touching his as they both stared together. "Well, my dear, I think we know where to go next," Dorian said, leading the way towards the new eluvian. The foursome ran towards it, and upon getting closer noticed they were following Qunari soldiers through it. On the other side, Yennifer gasped, and her heart sank a little. The Deep Roads. A sound of panic rose from the pit of her stomach. She suffered horribly with claustrophobia, and this was the last place she wanted to be. The feeling of hundreds of miles of rock pressing down on them was unbearable. "This is where dwarves come from, right?" Bull said, his eye glaring at the geometric patterns on the walls, the vast cavern around them. "Yep," Sera replied, "Good luck fitting through the little doors, big Bull!" Bull grunted, eyeing one of the doors nearby. It was sealed shut, and he looked doubtful that he would fit through. "You'll have to go sideways," Dorian said, trying his best to sound serious, but biting his bottom lip hard to stifle a laugh. Sera and Yennifer giggled quietly and Bull gave a small smirk too. "Come on, let's press on," Yennifer laughed, leading them forward. They turned a corner and got a glimpse of the soldiers they followed, not even able to draw their weapons before an explosion threw them all back. The sound was deafening, and the wind was knocked out of Yennifer when she landed flat on her back. Her ears were ringing, and she slowly sat up, losing her sense of direction for a second. "Everyone alright?" came Bull's voice, quiet, sounding far away over the deafening sound left by the explosion. Yennifer scrunched her eyes shut, clutching her temples as she waited for the ringing to subside, and felt Bull's strong hands on her waist, lifting her to her feet. She turned to see Dorian beside her, brushing dust off his robe, and Sera was smoothing down her hair, which was stuck out in every which way from the blast. "Gaatlok," Bull said, sighing and shaking his head. Yennifer frowned, "What?" she asked, walking over to where Bull was crouched, inspecting a cracked dome on the ground, the remainder of whatever caused the explosion. There was no sign of the soldiers who had been here before, save chunks of what could only be their flesh, and one horn with a lump of gore at the end, where it had once been attached to someone's head. She shuddered. Even though they were the enemy, she quietly hoped it had been over quick for them, and that they had died on impact. "It's a Qunari thing. An explosive powder, very sensitive to fire and electricity, so you," he turned to Dorian, pointing to the mage with a thick finger, "Careful with your fire magic and your electric shocks. And you," he turned to Sera now, "Careful with your explosive arrows. We don't know how many more of these barrels could be down here. And I certainly don't want to be buried in this shit hole." Everyone nodded, the cloud of dread previously mentioned pressing in tighter now.   
Conveniently, the blast had opened up a hole in the wall, revealing a small room that seemed to have been used as an office of some sort. A Qunari body lay in the corner, a note clutched in her hand. Yennifer sighed, she felt they were finding far too many dead bodies today. Yennifer snatched up the note, hoping for clues, but she was left disappointed. The paper was covered in what appeared to be mathematical equations, or something of the like. There was a diagram of a wall, surrounded by lines of text in what language she could only assume was Qunlat, but nothing could be made out. The paper had been torn by what looked like sharp teeth, and a thick layer of dried blood covered whatever conclusion had been drawn up. Useless, she thought, tossing the note to the ground. There was a layer of dust on everything in the room, and rocks and rubble all over the floor. There seemed to have been a cave in, and this made her panic. "Looks like there's been a bad cave in here," she said, "Let's please move quickly, I don't want to experience another one." Her friends nodded in agreement, and they followed the pathway down a flight of stairs and out onto a new path that overlooked the entire deep roads. Looking over the edge, she felt no air, nothing. What she did feel was the sense of impending doom as she looked down into the black abyss below. Dorian joined her to stare gulping loudly. "Maker knows how far down this goes," he said, daunted by the thought. Yennifer looked across to another section that was on the same level as them, and noticed a group of Qunari, too far away for her too see what they were doing, but there were a lot of them. "The Qunari have a huge operation here," she wondered aloud. Bull sighed, "Yeah, but for what?" he replied. At that, the ground shook, and several rocks fell from the ceiling. Yennifer felt Sera's hand snatch at her own. "I don't like this," the elf panicked, "Do we have to keep going?" Yennifer patted her hand gently, trying her best to soothe her. "I'm sorry, Sera, but, erm... Yes we do," she said, her words doing nothing to calm Sera as she dragged her through a doorway into complete darkness. Her mark flared then, and exploded into a pool of green light, illuminating the way forward. "That's handy," Dorian commented. Yennifer held her hand out ahead of her, using it to guide the way. They continued to follow the way forward, not meeting any dangers for some time, until suddenly, somewhere in the distance Yennifer saw many small, glowing circles moving around. "What the..." she whispered, edging closer to the lights. It wasn't until they heard the strange clicking and squeaking that they realised they were being hunted by deepstalkers. "Watch your feet everyone!" Dorian shouted, pulling his staff from his back and zapping the close knit group of predators with a chain of electricity. He didn't realise the gaatlok barrel in the far corner, and it exploded as a tendril of electricity licked at it. It sent four of the deepstalkers flying in different directions, splitting them into pieces and splattering their limps and flesh and blood all over the floor. "WHAT DID I TELL YOU?!" Bull bellowed as he swung his axe and cut through two deepstalkers at once. Yennifer sliced her dual blades through one of the creatures' long necks, and watched as the glowing eyes blinked quickly and rolled back into it's head. Sera bow thrummed constantly as she fired arrow after arrow into the viscious critters, and soon they were all laying in circles around them. "I hate those things, fucking ankle biters," Bull grunted, kicking one of the little bodies out of the way. The group continued along the path, coming to an opening ahead, where a soft, orange light from a fire illuminated the space. When they got closer, they found a small camp had been set up, a man sat by the fire warming his hands. "Look, someone up ahead!" Yennifer whispered, "I think he's human!" They got closer, watching him to see if he seemed hostile. He wasn't armed, and almost looked vulnerable. Why had he been left alone in such a dangerous place? The deepstalkers had been so close, and he wouldn't be able to fight them all off if they'd found him. She decided he wasn't a threat, and leaped down into the camp to confront him. As soon as he spotted them, the man jumped up from his seat, stepping away from them, his face giving away that he was terrified. "Stay back!" he shouted. His eyes fell on Yennifer's marked hand and he visibly relaxed, "Wait, your hand... Are you the Inquisitor?" Yennifer nodded, "Odd to find a human down in the deep roads at all, let alone surrounded by Qunari," she said, eyeing him suspiciously. He nodded and walked forwards again, seeming more safe in her presence now. "We don't have much time," he said, urgency in his voice, "Please, what the Viddasala is doing... You have to stop her!" Yennifer frowned. Viddasala? Who was that? "The Viddasala?!" Bull said, as if he had heard her thoughts, "That's a high ranking Ben Hassrath. Specialises in magic... Finding, studying, stopping." His eye flicked nervously to Yennifer's hand before he pulled it away, trying not to let her notice the worry in his face. The man sighed, "Not anymore," he said, "Look, I don't care whether you serve Fen'harel or not, someone has to stop her!" Yennifer shook her head, frowning. This was too much to take in, and why did he mention Fen'harel? "Why do the Qunari think we serve Fen'harel?" she asked. "I don't know," the man replied, starting to fidget with his hands uncomfortably, "The Viddasala said it and... well... the Qunari here accepted it as fact. We've had agents of Fen'harel causing trouble all over the Crossroads... sabotage, making spirits attack us. I assumed the Inquisition was their army, that you came here because Fen'harel told you to." Sera snorted in the background, muttering something about how this all sounded like a load of bollocks. "And who are you, exactly?" Yennifer asked, looking the man up and down. "My name is Gerand... _Ser_ Gerand, once," he answered, his voice turning wistful, "I was a templar in Kirkwall... until I joined the Qun. Kirkwall was madness, chaos, the Qunari were like the eye of the storm. I stand for order, discipline, protecting the innocent from magic. But this plan... it's as mad as Meredith ever was." He shook his head, looking down at his feet as he remembered the events of Kirkwall. Yennifer didn't have time to wallow with him though, and she pushed him for more information. "And what is it that you're wanting me to stop?" she asked. Gerand's eyes met hers again, pleading and desperate. He explained how this part of the deep roads was like a fountain of Lyrium, how it seemed to become more plentiful the more it was mined. "What do they want it for?" Yennifer asked. "The Qunari need it for... have you ever heard of Saarebas?" Gerand replied. Yennifer turned to Bull for an explanation. His face looked grim. "Dangerous thing," he explained, "It's what the Qun calls mages." "Even as a templar, I've never seen anything like the power a Saarebas can unleash," Gerand continued, "Even now, the Viddasala is giving them Lyrium, a lot of Lyrium... It's part of something she calls 'Dragon's Breath." Bull snorted a that, "That's a load of crap," he snapped, "There's no way the Viddasala would allow any Saarebas within a thousand feet of Lyrium!" Gerand shook his head, "There's more to it than that, but, I couldn't find out what," he stuttered, his face paling, "The Qunari don't like it when you ask too many questions..." Yennifer laughed, "That's not seriously the name of the plan is it? _Dragon's Breath_ " She snorted, the Qunari sounded ridiculous. "You know most dragons' breath destroys everything in its path, yes?" Gerand said, "She said it would 'save the South.' That can mean only one thing, an invasion." Yennifer's breath caught in her throat. Ashaanti. She spun around to face Bull and saw he was staring into the distance, and she knew his thoughts were with their daughter too, all the way back at the Winter Palace, and they were here. They couldn't be there to protect her if the Qunari decided to attack now. Suddenly Yennifer's nerves seemed to be on fire, her body felt as though it was vibrating impatiently. She had to get back. Gerand saw the panic on her face, and began to tell her his plan. "This mine is their only source of Lyrium," he said, "They're using gaatlok to mine so they don't have to touch raw lyrium. If you get the primers from central supply you could prime the gaatlok and detonate it. The mines will go up in flames." Yennifer sighed. She didn't like the idea of explosions in the deep roads. They were prone to cave ins of their own accord, and adding to it meant there was the chance the whole place could come crashing down, burying them here. But it was their only hope of halting the Qunari and their deadly plan. "Alright, I'll do what I can," she finally replied, her voice shaky. Gerand nodded, "I doubt my blessing counts for much now, but... Maker watch over you," he said. He explained that reinforcements would come for them when the gaatlok exploded, stressing that they had to stop the Viddasala to stop the war. Yennifer stared at him, trying to figure out what to do with him. He'd given the Qunari information about the South, information that could damn them all. By rights she should kill him as a traitor. She thought of her daughter, and all the people in Southern Thedas she'd only recently rescued from a terrible fate at the hands of Corypheus. And now this man may have contributed to another threat. Her people didn't deserve this. But still, if he hadn't given her this information, she could never have moved forwards. She wouldn't have even known why the Qunari were down here. Plus he was clearly disillusioned by the Qunari, and he wanted them to be stopped. She sighed and grabbed his shoulder. "Get yourself out of here, there's no telling what will happen when the gaatlok goes off, and I'm sure you don't want to explain to the Qunari how we knew about their operations," she said, pushing him towards the exit. He stared at her, clearly flabbergasted that he was being allowed to leave. Bull shook his head after Gerand had left, "He was a traitor, Yen, he didn't deserve to run!" She turned around to face him, "Perhaps, but he gave us valuable information to help our cause, let's hurry up and use it, I don't have time to bicker over what we should have done with him," she snapped, not waiting for a response. They carried on through the cavern, fighting another horde of darkspawn that snapped hungrily at their legs on the way. Further ahead they were met by a group of Qunari soldiers, and a quick fight ensued. The Qunari clearly weren't expecting them, and they fought sloppily, Yennifer and her group getting the upper hand whilst these soldiers struggled to draw their weapons. _They'll know we're here soon enough,_ Yennifer thought herself. When they finally reached the central supply, they were all breathless from battling more soldiers, heavily armored and their performance bolstered by a saarebas. The Qunari mage was foreboding, using magic Yennifer had never experienced before. The fight was long and hard fought, and they almost lost Sera when a bolt of bright, blue electric hit her hard in the chest, throwing her light body across the field of battle. Once the saarebas was dead, Dorian ran over to help their friend up, giving her a healing potion to stop the pain and fix her up. Yennifer found the primers, handing one to each of her companions. "Let's go explode some gaatlok," she said, marching back out into the cavern.  
"One more to go!" Yennifer shouted over the echoes of the explosion that rang through the deep roads. They had successfully destroyed three of the mining platforms, defeating a platoon of Qunari soldiers after each explosion. The explosions were noticeably damaging the structure of the deep roads, and water was pouring into the cavern at an alarming speed, filling it up quickly. "We need to move, I don't fancy drowning down here," Dorian shouted, panic rising in his voice. They raced to the last platform, and Sera quickly placed the last primer onto one of the gaatlok barrels. Once it was set, the four of them raced away, shielding their ears as the explosion devastated the platform, knocking it into the rising water below. "Back to the eluvian, now," Yennifer shouted, bringing up the rear of the group. Bull stopped and pushed her ahead of him. He loved that she cared so much about them all, but he hated it too. He hated that she liked to be at the back, the most dangerous part, how she would throw her life on the line to save her friends. They stood and glared at each other, each one willing the other to go first. "Come on, move, move, move!" Sera screeched at them. Bull growled and grabbed Yennifer's hand, pulling her along beside him. They were close to the eluvian, she could feel it, but she could also sense something else. " _You are blind, Inquisitor_ " came an unsettling hissing voice from the shadows. She spun to find the owner of the voice and was thrown to the ground by a Qunari prowler who leaped onto her, driving his dagger into her shoulder. She screamed in pain, pulling out her own dagger and jamming it into her attacker's throat, the flow of blood drenching her face and seeping into her hairline when she pulled it back out again. She pushed the lifeless body off of her, struggling to her feet and eyeing the hilt that was protruding from her body. "Don't pull it out," Bull snapped. If she pulled it out she'd bleed to death before they got to the eluvian. The thing causing her the most pain was the thing plugging her up, stopping her from dying. She winced in pain as she swung her daggers around, trying to slice at the prowlers that danced around them now. She managed to slice into one, cutting her throat, and she buried her dagger into another's temple. She turned to see another leaping towards her, mad look in their eyes, but two arrows caught them in the throat before they could reach Yennifer. She turned around to see Bull had fallen to his knees, clutching at his side, his face scrunched in pain. She looked down to see a pool of blood spreading around him. She gasped, but her breath caught in throat and she almost choked on it. A body lay beside Bull, steam rising from them where Dorian had zapped them with electricity. The threat was over, and Yennifer raced to Bull's side, her stomach turning when she saw his wound. It was deep, and the dagger had been stabbed in and dragged down... and pulled out. The blood was coming out too fast, and judging by how Bull was wheezing and struggling to breath, a lung had been punctured. She blinked back tears as she grabbed his arm and tried to pull him to his feet. "Come on, get yourself up," she said, trying to sound calm and encouraging, but a note of hysteria in her voice gave her away. "Get up, Bull, now, dammit! We need to get you back!" He groaned and tried to stand, but fell down again. She knelt in front of him and grabbed his face in her hands. "Come on now," she whispered, the first tears dribbling down her cheeks, "Ashaanti will be waiting for us! And, um, you know, I need you with me to sing her to sleep. You know I've got a terrible voice, it's only you who makes her sleep, or maybe it's because you're boring, and you tire her out... But just... get up. Please." Bull smirked a little. "I'm not... I'm not boring," he whispered back. He grunted then, and Yennifer's heart leaped as he struggled to his feet. "Help me!" she shouted to Dorian, who put one of Bull's arms around his shoulders. Sera stood behind him, her arms wrapped around his waist to hold him up. Yennifer held his other arm around her shoulder and together they moved as fast as they could back to the eluvian. "So... who wants to tell the other's we're at war with the Qunari?" Yennifer sniffed. Sera snorted, "As if!"   
As they stumbled back through the eluvian, the guards paled when they saw the Inquisitor with blood splattered across her face like crude war paint. They raced off to fetch medical help for Bull, and he was dragged away to the Winter Palace's medical wing. Yennifer felt lost as she followed the nurses to the medical room, where they placed Bull on a bed. "Will he be OK?" she asked, but no one answered. "Is the wound bad? Will it heal quickly?" Still no answer. She felt rage building up inside her, and she roughly grabbed a nurse who went to walk past her like she wasn't there. "That's the father of my child there," she snapped, her fingers digging into the nurse's arm, "And I am the Inquisitor. You _will_ tell me, is he going to be OK?" The nurse frowned at her and sighed. "The wound is very deep, and he has a punctured lung," the nurse replied, "He has lost a lot of blood and is starting to become incoherent, exhausted. We will do what we can." And with that, Yennifer was pushed from the room, the door slammed in her face. She took a deep breath before bursting into tears. _We will do what we can._ That didn't sound promising. She wanted to be there with him, to hold his hand and stroke his face. She couldn't bear being out here. Suddenly the door opened again, and another nurse, a senior nurse, poked her head out. "What happened for him to get this wound? Where have you been?" she asked. Yennifer faltered. What could she say? We've been fighting Qunari and oh, there's a chance they might come here and take us all by the way? She couldn't tell her. "We... um... we went out hunting, he was attacked by a boar..." she stammered. The nurse narrowed her eyes at her, stepping out into the corridor and closing the door behind her. "There are no boars near the Winter Palace," she said suspiciously. Yennifer bit back more tears. "I don't know what it was! I didn't stop to find out!" she cried. The nurse nodded her head and opened the door to go back in. Before leaving, she turned back to Yennifer and said quietly, "We will do what we can, Inquisitor."  
"Dragon's Breath," Leliana snorted, "The Qunari always liked their metaphors." Yennifer paced the room on the opposite side of the table. She had been forced to change back into formal garb and wash her face before going back out into the civilised world again, and she begrudged being at this meeting when the love of her life was possibly dying on a table somewhere on the other side of the palace. She was barely listening to her advisers, who were outwardly panicking after hearing what she'd discovered in the deep roads. "Qunari agents moving through eluvians to attack the South is bad enough already," Cullen sighed. Leliana shook her head, "I still don't understand why they would accuse us of serving Fen'harel..." Yennifer rubbed her temples, trying in vain to soothe the migraine she was suffering, "Corypheus tried to set himself up as a god," she said, "Maybe someone who knows elven history is doing the same?" Josephine considered this for a moment, before replying. "But how does that implicate us?" she asked, "What made them decide the inquisition serves this 'Fen'harel'?" They all thought about that, but couldn't draw up any conclusions. "Maybe we will find out more when we stop them," Leliana offered. "Let's see the Exalted Council try to disband us after we save them from this Dragon's Breath plot," Cullen snorted. "We need to find out what Dragon's Breath is first, Commander," Leliana reminded him. Before Leliana could continue, the door to the room slammed open, and Arl Teagan stormed in followed by an apologetic looking Duke Cyril. "Oh, for fuck's sake," Yennifer hissed under her breath. She didn't need those annoying vultures pecking at her right now. "My apolgies, but there has been a situation involving one of your soldiers," Duke Cyril said the Josephine. Arl Teagan glared past the advisors and looked straight to Yennifer, his face creased in anger. "How _dare_ you," he snapped, "It was bad enough that you chose not to inform us of the Qunari corpse, but now your own guards are attacking servants?! You have overstepped your bounds." Yennifer could feel her face reddening with anger. She wanted to leap across the room and smack his head against the wall. How dare he speak to her like this? She felt tears prickling the backs of her eyes, and quickly looked down. She didn't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing he was getting to her. She took a deep breath, looking back up at the Arl when she had controlled herself. She had planned to civil, but it seemed she was vomiting words now, as she snapped back, "Who do you think you are?!" Josephine turned to look at her incredulously. "Inquisitor-" "No, Josephine," Yennifer snapped, "This is inquisition business you are interrupting!" The Arl looked furious at this, and Yennifer cursed herself, before continuing. "I apologise," she sighed, "Thank you for bringing this to my attention, gentlemen. I will look into this immediately." Duke Cyril bowed graciously, "Thank you, Inquisitor," he said, "Orlais stands ready to assist you." The Arl wasn't please however. "Secrets and lies," he growled, "Do you understand why we fear your inquisition? You act as though you're the solution to every problem. How long before you drag us into another war?" Yennifer had to turn away then, as tears streamed down her face, hot and stinging. Footsteps approached her and a gentle hand rested on her shoulder. She turned to see Cullen giving her a reassuring look. He squeezed her shoulder gently, and she winced, the wound from the dagger that had been buried their protesting from under it's bandages. Cullen shook his head apologetically, but she smiled and patted him on the back, a silent thank you.   
Out in the palace grounds, Yennifer followed the sound of people shouting, the general buzz of excitement, until she came upon a crowd. She pushed her way to the front to find an inquisition soldier and an Orlesian soldier squaring each other up. Off to the side she saw one of the inquisition's elven guards standing over an elven servant, who had a protective hand laying on something that made her heart skip a beat. A gaatlok barrel. She turned her incredulous gaze to the inquisition soldier, demanding answers. "The Orlesians tried to take one of our people, Inquisitor. We've secured the area," the soldier said, putting a hand to his chest to salute her respectfully. The Orlesian soldier marched forward. "This is the Winter Palace," he snapped, "You cannot simply seize control when one of your guards attacks a servant!" The inquisition guard snorted, "When some noble commits a crime of fashion, you can take over." Yennifer could feel her anger reaching boiling point. "Enough!" she snapped, her patience wearing thing, "What happened?" She turned her gaze to her elven guard. "I only asked what he was doing," she said, gesturing to the servant, who leaped to his feet. "And when I refused to bow to the inquisitions dogs, she attacked me!" he cried. Yennifer frowned, they were acting like children. She eyed the barrel suspiciously. "And how did that barrel get there?" she asked the servant. He shifted nervously, "I... was told to bring wine for the guests," he replied. The inquisition guard shook her head, "You're lying!" she said. The inquisition soldier stepped up then, "What should we do, my lady?" he asked. She looked at the gaatlok barrel again. She couldn't believe it was in such close proximity to her child. And how had it gotten here?! "Take the servant in for questioning," she answered. The Orlesian soldier stamped his foot, "Duke Cyril will here about this!" he snapped, before marching off. The elven guard approached her then, handing her a note. "This was on the barrel, inquisitor, but I can't read the language." Yennifer took the note, quickly realising the language was Qunlat. She felt eyes watching her, and looked up to see Leliana beckoning her over. "Let me read it, I've learned some Qunlat from The Iron Bull, but I'm told my accent is terrible," she said, taking the note and reading it out slowly.  
 _When duty is performed report to the Viddasala through the mirror marked by a bookcase._  
"There are also orders here to move gaatlok barrels into the palace..." Leliana whispered. Yennifer sighed. How much more shit could she take today? "If we are going to stop this Viddasala, this is our chance," she said. Leliana nodded, "While you do that, I'll have my agents locate the barrels and remove them safely," she replied, "I will also send word to my foreign contacts. We must see where else this dragon could strike."  
Yennifer went back up to the medical wing, dressed back in her armor ready for another trip through the eluvian. She had to see him before she went. When she entered the room, there was no more chaos, no more nurses rushing around, save for one who was checking the bandages wrapped around Bull's ribs, holding him together. "How is he doing?" Yennifer asked, her voice soft and quiet. The nurse smiled, "He will survive this day," she replied, "But he must rest, he lost a lot of blood and his body needs to recover it again. He is in an induced sleep at the moment, so won't be able to wake yet... I will allow you a moment alone with him." And with that, the nurse left. Yennifer approached the bed, grabbing Bull's hand and holding it against her face. "I'll be back as soon as I can, OK?" she whispered, watching his face, the way his lips twitched gently in his sleep. They had removed his eye patch, and he looked peaceful, serene even. His chest rose and fell rhythmically, his breathing soft and gentle. She noticed his necklace had been taken off, and she panicked for a moment before realising it had been laid on the table. She picked it up and placed it in his palm, closing the fingers around it and putting his fist on his chest. "No matter how far apart life takes us, we'll always be together," she whispered, placing a kiss on his lips. "No matter how far."  
When she reached the eluvian, Dorian and Sera were waiting for her, and they were joined by Cassandra, who was wearing a gleaming suit of armour. Gold plated, with a red fur collar, and a golden helmet with a stunning gold crest on her head. "What are you doing here?" Yennifer asked. Cassandra gave her friend a sorry glance when she laid her eyes upon her exhausted face. "You were a man down, so I volunteered to join you on this next excursion," she smiled. Yennifer shook her head, "No! We'll take someone else, you're too valuable, Cassandra, if you get hurt-" Cassandra cut her off with a stern glare. "It is not up for discussion, Yennifer!" the Divine snapped, "Besides, I have much pent up anger, I need to cut something with my sword!" Yennifer sighed, there was no arguing with Divine Victoria, it seemed. She stepped up to the eluvian, and Cassandra grabbed her hand, squeezing it gently. "Your friends are with you, Yennifer," she whispered.


	16. Chapter 16

When they were back in the Crossroads, Yennifer allowed Cassandra a few minutes to accustom herself to the strange place. The Divine stared, jaw gaping open, at the vast expanse beyond. "This is..." she breathed, unable to finish her sentence. Dorian reached over and pushed her bottom jaw up to close her mouth with his finger, and Cassandra frowned at him, changing her demeanor to one of a person who was not in the slightest bit interested in her surroundings. Dorian snorted and shook his head. Yennifer pointed into the distance, "Look!" she exclaimed, and everyone turned to where she was pointing to see a stone archway materialize from thin air. It connected the main island they were standing on to another floating island nearby, with a path swirling around the outside of it. It was like a small, scaled down mountain ridge, and Yennifer just knew there would be another eluvian on it. A group of Qunari soldiers appeared, rushing across the archway at great speed. "There! On them!" Sera shouted, setting off at a sprint after the Qunari. The group chased after them, following them up the new island to come to a new eluvian, and sure enough, it was standing beside a large bookcase. The bookcase was old, withered, and full of dusty books. Yennifer reached out to pick one out of the shelf, but Cassandra put her hand on hers. "Do not touch them, Inquisitor," she said quietly, suspiciously, "We do not know what magics could be laying on these books." Yennifer heeded her advise. She took a deep breath and smiled at Cassandra. "Are you ready to go through, Your Holiness?" Yennifer asked, gesturing to the eluvian. Cassandra grunted in disgust, "I am not, to tell the truth, but that won't stop me," she said, eyeing the eluvian with uncertainty, "Though all before me is shadow, yet shall the Maker be my guide. I shall not be left to wander the drifting roads of the Beyond. For there is no darkness in the Maker's light, and nothing that He has wrought shall be lost." Dorian sighed, "Amen," he whispered quietly. "Amen," Sera said in a shaky voice. The three friends turned to walk through the eluvian, stopping to turn in shock when they heard Yennifer mutter a quiet "Amen." Cassandra shook her head, "I thought... You do not believe," she said. Yennifer shrugged her shoulders. "I could only pretend the Maker wasn't watching over me for so long," she whispered, "By rights I should be dead, the amount of times I've been in great peril and somehow gotten out... It seems wrong to think my survival is just a coincidence." For the last few days, Yennifer had felt her disbelief in the Maker wavering. It had finally dawned on her that their must be someone watching over her. Someone was keeping her safe, keeping her alive. Someone so desperately wanted her to live. How could she fool herself any longer? Cassandra smiled, a smile of great relief and joy. She laid a gentle hand on Yennifer's shoulder. "That is good to hear my friend," she said, "Come now, let us press on."  
On the other side of the eluvian, they found themselves in a very strange place indeed. More bookcases stood on either side of them, and the area seemed not too dissimilar from the Fade, when they had walked through it physically. Sera shuddered, "I hoped we were done with strange shit!" she said, panic in her voice. "We are far from done with strange shit, my dear, I thought that was inherently clear," Dorian said, looking around with an expression of awe on his face. Yennifer looked at the way the place was decorated, the furnishings and the area itself. It was definitely some sort of elven library. "This place definitely saw a massive magical backlash some time ago," Dorian said, his voice somewhat far away, indicating he was wondering aloud, twisting the edge of his moustache between his fingers thoughtfully. Yennifer sighed, "Let's hope we can track down the Viddasala in all this," she said, a hint of doubt in her voice. They pressed on, walking out on to a cliff face that overlooked a huge, spacious field of nothingness beyond. Far in the distance they could see more floating islands, like in the Crossroads. Some were upside down, one with a waterfall that was falling up instead of down. On one of the islands stood two Qunari men, but there was no eluvian on their island, and Yennifer frowned, wondering how on earth they'd managed to get there. They followed the path until they came to the bottom of a large, stone staircase, but the way forward was blocked by a red wisp, a friendly spirit, she decided, as it did not make to attack them. Instead, a soft female voice came from it, speaking to Sera only, in elven. "Andaran atish'an, mirthadra elvhen," the spirit said politely, some kind of greeting it seemed. Sera gasped, shifting uncomfortably, "Why is it talking to me?!" she whined. "If you wish, honored elvhen, I will speak so your friends understand," the spirit replied, now in the common tongue, "I am study, I am a learning thirst. Come, know what has not been lost. New words, new stories. The Qunari would not approach but we learned their words as well. If you wish to exchange knowledge, they congregate by the lower gate." "What did the old elves use this place for?" Yennifer asked. The spirit turned to her, gesturing to the expanse around them, "This is the Vir Dirthara, the living knowledge of the empire," it replied, "The libraries of every city, the wisdom of every court. A connecting place whose paths are in disarray." Yennifer frowned, "Why are the paths in disarray?" she asked. "The Vir Dirthara was made of world and fade. When they sundered, so did we," the spirit answered, a touch of sadness in it's voice, "Paths broke, knowledge fragmented, many were trapped. I preserve their last words." Yennifer shuddered, feeling uncomfortable about what she was about to ask. Last words? That sounded ominous, almost sad. As if sensing the question, the spirit continued, "What happened? Where are the paths? Where are the paths? Gods save me, the floor is gone. Do not let me fall. Do not let me..." it trailed off, going quiet before continuing, "On this spot, that is all." Yennifer looked around, the place that had fascinated her when she first arrived now filling her with a sense of sadness at the grim fate those who once lived here must have suffered. She abruptly changed the subject, "I'm looking for a Qunari called Viddasala," she said, "Do you know what she wants here?" The spirit nodded, "Viddasala, yes. She uses scholars and mages for study," it explained, "They fear this place, but they seek to know the Veil." Upon questioning the spirit about what the Viddasala could possibly want with the Veil, the spirit apologetically replied, "I regret I do not have more information, I am sundered from myself. If you discover another one of me nearer the Qunari, I may know more... Kindly give it my greetings, I have not thought with myself for a long time." Sera gave a quiet whine, her fear of this place made quite clear. "We'll be going now," Yennifer said, making to leave the spirit, but it moved into her path, blocking the way again. "Know this," it said quietly, "An unknown person, not of the Qunari, recently woke the librarians." An unknown person? "Could that be the agent of Fen'harel?" Yennifer asked, hope in her voice. "The librarians facilitated learning before the fracture," the spirit continued, "Now... beware of them. They are... unwell." And with that, the spirit disappeared, seeming to blow away like smoke in the nonexistent wind of this place. "Well, let's hope we don't run into the librarians," Sera shuddered. "Are you not even slightly interested, Sera?" Cassandra asked, "This is a part of your history after all." Dorian and Yennifer groaned in unison. "Shut it!" Sera snapped back at the Divine, storming off up the stone steps, coming to an abrupt halt at the top. "How the f- How are we meant to get over there?!" she shouted, her voice echoing in the massive space. When the other three joined her, they saw an eluvian across from them... but no path to reach it. Further in the distance they saw an upside down island teeming with Qunari. "That's where we need to be," Yennifer said. Sera frowned, "How are they not chucking their guts up?!" she exclaimed. "Well it won't be upside down to them, will it?" Yennifer said, moving past Sera to approach a strange, red pod. She reached out to lay a hand on it, jumping back when it glowed. A pile of rocks nearby sprung to life, levitating into the air and laying out to create a pathway ahead. "Well that was handy," Dorian said, reaching out to touch the pod. "Leave it!" Yennifer snapped, "It might undo the path." Dorian sighed, clearly aggravated that he never got to do any of the cool stuff. Yennifer gingerly crossed the path, half expecting it to collapse beneath her. She came to another tiny island, a stone bridge connecting it to another island, larger, with a new eluvian on it. "Maybe we need to go through there to lift the next bridge?" Yennifer said, turning to Dorian for confirmation. "Your guess is as good as mine," Dorian said, smiling reassuringly. Yennifer led the way, stepping through the new eluvian to find a circular area, bookcases as high as the eye could see lining every wall. In the centre of the room was another ornate, iron tree, a green light flickering in it's branches, just like the one that had set her mark off before. She tried to avoid it, but a tendril of the green magic snatched out at her, and her had exploded into a throb of excruciating pain, that ebbed away almost as quickly as it had begun. She gasped, clutching her hand to her chest and gritting her teeth. Dorian frowned, his face a picture of concern and worry for his best friend. "Your anchor is flaring up near magic... Elven magic," he said. Yennifer shook her head in confusion, "It doesn't hurt any other time," she said, "What's causing this?" The mage sighed, "I don't know... Tell us if it gets any worse."  
There were several eluvians in this new room, and Yennifer chose one at random to walk through, coming out into a strange area, part of some building that had withered away over time. Half of the structure had collapsed, and the rest was on it's way to follow suit. They followed the path ahead and were greeted by another friendly spirit like the one from before. It spoke in the same polite voice, "Welcome, welcome. Listen to the words of those who lives past the fall," it said, "How could the Dread Wolf cast a veil between the world that wakes and the world that dreams? The evanuris will send people. They will save us! When have you last heard from the gods? When the Veil came down they went silent! What is this Veil? What has Fen'harel done?" The spirit faded away after reciting the conversation to them. Yennifer scratched her head in confusion. "Are these records saying Fen'harel created the Veil between our world and the Fade?" she asked, turning to her friends. Dorian nodded, "If it's true, that means the Fade and the waking world were once one and the same..." Sera shuddered... _again_. Yennifer made a mental note to get out of here as soon as possible. She hated knowing how terrified Sera was. She gave her friend a reassuring smile. "Calm yourself, Sera," she said, "We'll be out of here before you know it!" Sera nodded, a look of doubt on her face as she tried to compose herself. They came to another eluvian, and after passing through it they quickly found another red pod, which raised another pathway when touched. They quickly made their way back to the circular room with the book shelves, and upon approaching the tree, the green magic crackled again. It caught Yennifer in it's grasp again, and this time the magic knocked her to the ground, the pain searing from her fingertips all the way up to her elbow. She cried out like a dying animal, seeing stars in her vision as her arm twitched and jerked in pain. No one said anything, but Cassandra, Dorian and Sera exchanged worried looks. Why was it doing this? Why was this strange, elven magic interacting with the mark so aggressively? Yennifer pulled herself to her feet, panting from the shock of the pain. She pushed forward, stepping through the next eluvian to come to another broken down structure. Another friendly spirit appeared to talk to them again. "Welcome, and listen to the last words of those who walked this place," it started, "If we get out of here, I will end Fen'Harel! After he held back the sky to imprison the gods, the Dread Wolf disappeared. Lies! We must tear down the Veil! The cities, the pathways... without magic, they're crumbling! You're wasting your time. Fen'harel's Veil has turned our empire to ruins." They passed the spirit, leaving it behind feeling even more confused. "So the ancient elven empire collapsed because the Veil weakened magic?" Yennifer wondered aloud. Dorian took a deep breath. "Do you realize what this means?" he asked, "What this place is? The actual history of the elves could change everything." When they found the last red pod, they watched with anticipation, almost excited about being able to proceed. When they reached the circular room again, Yennifer was thankful that the magic had stopped crackling in the tree, but as they walked back towards the eluvian that lead back out into the Vir Dirthara, back to the newly laid pathway, she got a feeling of unease, as though they were being watched. She felt her heart sink as she realised what was coming. How could they not be coming? She and her companions had been passing through the eluvians, making too much noise and affecting the elven magic. Of course the librarians would be coming for them. She had not however, expected them to come out in the form they did. They appeared through the bookcases, four of them, taking the form of monstrous fear demons, and with them they summoned fearlings, once again coming to Yennifer in the form of spiders. "Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Sera cried as the demons loomed over them. "Focus on one at a time!" Yennifer commanded, "They are too strong for us to fight without order!" Together, the four of them attacked the librarians, the fight long and hard. Yennifer sliced at the closest one, and she felt Cassandra at her side, swinging her sword into it's flesh and shoving into it with her shield, grunts escaping her with the exertion. Dorian and Sera stayed back, using the advantage of being ranged attackers to keep them away from the immediate danger. Yennifer could feel her strength starting to wane, and she was about to give up when her hand suddenly began to twitch. She was distracted, looking down to see what was going on. The green light was almost blinding as the magic pulled her arm up into the air, exploding into a fountain of offensive magic that threw the librarians away from her. Two of them collapsed, disappearing into thin air, the other two visibly weaker. Cassandra stared at her in disbelief. "What was that?!" she panted. "I... I don't know," Yennifer replied breathlessly. "Do it again, then!" Sera shouted. It took some time before the magic in her hand built up again, but when it was ready, Yennifer released it again, and this time the librarians were destroyed, sinking into the ground. Dorian ran over, grabbing Yennifer's hand and turning it over in his own, inspecting it. "Did you feel pain when you used it?" he asked. She shook her head, "No... It didn't hurt, I just got the feeling that I needed to use it... It was as if the mark was commanding me to release the magic," she whispered. "That's nice," Sera hissed, "Can we get going please?!"  
Once they had crossed the pathway, they stood together in front of the eluvian. "Everyone, stand ready," Yennifer said, turning back to face her friends. "There's a high chance this Viddasala, will be on the other side, and a big army waiting for us. Keep your wits about you and... take care." She turned and led the way through the mirror, stepping out on the other side, onto the island they'd seen upside down before. She had been right about the army. At least fifteen soldiers were there, as well as a saarebas. A podium stood across the courtyard, and Yennifer watched as a female Qunari stepped forward. The Viddasala. She was flanked by a giant Qunari. Another saarebas, and he was at least three times taller than The Iron Bull. Yennifer gulped loudly, desperate to turn round and run back to the Winter Palace. But no, she couldn't. She puffed her chest out and stepped forward, waiting for the other woman to talk first. The Viddasala eyed her, some parts hatred and suspicion, some parts impressed that this woman had made it this far. "Survivor of the Breach. Herald of change. Hero of the South." she said, her voice monotone and deep, full of the self confidence of someone who could not be told their actions were wrong. "The Viddasala, I presume," Yennifer replied, eyeing the Qunari woman with the same distaste. She nodded, confirming her identity before continuing. "After fulfilling your purpose at the Breach, it is astonishing to hear you still walk free among your people," she said, "Your duty is done, Inquisitor, it is time to end your magic." Yennifer bristled. She didn't want to fight. In fact, she was sure she couldn't fight this formiddable force assembled in front of her. "It's not too late to put our weapons down and talk," she replied, trying in vain to take the hint of pleading from her voice. The Viddasala snorted, "There's no need to pretend you're blind to what you have begun," Viddasala snapped, "I am no stranger to catastrophe, but this chaos in the South defies comprehension. The Qun left your people to curb your own magic... You've amply proven we should have stepped in long ago!" Yennifer laughed, feeling her confidence bolstered by the ridiculous shite the Viddasala was spewing. She immediately regretted it when the woman's brow furrowed, making her even more frightening than she already was. Yennifer refused to let her see her uncomfortable though, and carried on with this front. "Is that what Dragon's Breath is for?" she asked, "Murdering our heads of state just to control our magic?" "Do you believe closing the Breach solved everything?" the Viddasala shouted back, "That it's consequences stopped there? The day we saw the Breach, the Qun decided its action. We would remove your leaders and spare those who toil. This agent of Fen'harel has disrupted everything. Lives that were to be spared, lost for him!" Yennifer shook her head, walking forward and stopping abruptly when two spear wielding Qunari soldiers jabbed their weapons at her, forcing her to stop. "Who is this agent?" she demanded, "Why would you think they work for the inquisition?" The Viddasala turned away then, walking toward the eluvian, the huge saarebas in tow. "Kill the inquisitor," she commanded, "Then follow me to the Darvaarad." When she was gone, the army of Qunari turned to them, drawing their weapons and running towards them. Yennifer spied a cluster of gaatlok barrels nearby, and she looked from them to the mark on her hand. _Hmmm,_ she thought to herself. She ran over to the barrels and turned to the army, waving her arms. "Here I am!" she shouted, attracting manic and shocked glances from Dorian, Sera and Cassandra, "Come and get me!" The soldiers ran at her, swords and spears pointed at her. She allowed the anchor's magic to release itself, and it exploded spectacularly, setting the gaatlok barrels off. She was thrown backwards, thankfully the anchor's magic defended her from the blast, but the Qunari soldiers weren't so lucky. Yennifer closed her eyes, lifting a hand to shield her face, and she heard the sickening sound of chunks of flesh and core slapping the ground around her. Something hit her hard in the head, making her head throb. When she opened her eyes she balked, leaping away from what had hit her - a Qunari head, the expression on it's face one of shock and terror. She looked around her, eyeing the splatters of blood covering everything in the area, limbs and chunks of flesh and pieces of armour and weapons strewn all over the place. She winced, _so much bloodshed,_ she thought sadly. She was brought back to her senses when she realised there were still four soldiers to fight, as well as the saarebas. Dorian was swinging his staff around his head, sending out wisps of frost, bolts of lightning, and igniting a nearby enemy with fire summoned from his finger tips. "I could do this all day!" he laughed, almost maniacally. Yennifer leaped onto the back of one of the soldiers, digging her daggers deep into his clavicle, jumping to the ground as he went limp and fell face first onto the ground. Sera was firing arrows at the saarebas, who conjured a field of explosive lightning under her, and when it erupted she was thrown back, her hair sticking up in all different directions from the electric current. She jumped up, gulping down a healing potion before carrying on. Cassandra impaled the last soldier standing on her sword, kicking the body back off with a swift boot to the chest. And then the four of them rounded on the saarebas. Yennifer rushed forward, releasing the magic from her anchor again, but it didn't touch the Qunari mage. He leaped into the air, coming back down to earth with a deafening slam, knocking them all off their feet. He shot a bolt of electricity straight into Yennifer's chest, and it knocked the wind out of her. Her body jerked and twitched with the electricity, and she gasped for air, falling to her feet. "Leave me!" she shouted when Dorian rushed over to help her, "Keep fighting!" Dorian reluctantly left her there, and she drank a healing potion, feeling no effects from it. She clutched her chest, the stinging pain still clutching her body. She looked up to see another bolt hitting Dorian in the face, and he collapsed, landing face down in a large puddle of water. Yennifer crawled across to him and flipped him over to stop him from drowning. He was unconscious, but alive, thank the Maker. She pushed herself to her feet and watched as Cassandra used her dispel abilities to remove the saarebas' magical shield, and as soon as it was down, Yennifer released the magic from her mark again, and this time it damaged the mage, causing him to fall to his knees. Cassandra was on him immediately, slamming her sword down in between his shoulder blades, holding it there until the Qunari went limp. When he collapsed, Yennifer noticed a strange stone fall from his pocket. She picked it up, turning it over in her hands slowly. "A keystone to the Darvaarad," came the familiar voice of the spirit that had guided them through the Vir Dirthara. It was waiting for them up on the podium. Yennifer grabbed Dorian and gently tapped his face, and he slowly came to, blinking his eyes rapidly and staring around. He gasped, taking a deep breath, before rising shakily to his feet. "Come on, we need to get out of here," Yennifer said, pulling Dorian's arm around her shoulder and supporting him as they climbed the stairs to the top of the podium. The spirit spoke to them again, softly and politely, "Visitors. Patrons. Welcome. The halls are open," it said. "Can you tell me where a Qunari called Viddasala went?" Yennifer asked it, her voice almost snappy. She was desperate to get out of this place. The spirit seemed unperturbed by her impolite tone, and answered anyway, "Yes, we heard much, even though she fooled herself into thinking we could not hear," it said, and then it recited the Viddasala's words, "'Take a keystone to the Darvaarad. I will join you there soon and take stock of our remaining gaatlok powder.' If it is something you would like to see, I have words to open the keystone you found." Yennifer held the keystone out infront of her. "You need the words for their key," the spirit said, "Maraas nehraa. It glows. It will open the way to the Darvaarad. May you find what you seek. In coming here, you straightened the path. I can raise one now, if you wish to go." Yennifer nodded enthusiastically. She needed to get back. She needed to see Bull, and their daughter. She felt as though she had been gone for weeks, when in reality it had probably only been a few hours. The spirit raised the pathway that led to the eluvian the Viddasala had passed through. "Thank you," Yennifer said to the spirit, "You've been very helpful, um..." She did not know the name of the spirit and she waited, hoping it would introduce itself. "Ghil-Dirthalen," it offered, "That was what the elvhen called me. 'One who guides seekers of knowledge true.' I was connection. One city could read the records of another. One elvhen could hear the memories of another. When the Veil fell upon us, I marked the end of all they knew." And with that, the spirit was gone forever. Yennifer did not wait to wonder where it had gone, but she left a feeling of gratitude behind, hoping that Ghil-Dirthalen would feel it. She dragged Dorian through the eluvian, and gasped when she came out the other side to see Bull waiting for her, sitting on a stool and watching the eluvian intently, as though the power of his sight alone could make her appear. "Kadan," he gasped, relief washing over his face. Two guards rushed forward to take Dorian from her, and Sera and Cassandra left, both nodding to Bull as they passed him. He grabbed Yennifer into a tight embrace, holding her so close that their bodies could form into one if they squeezed together any tighter. "I'd love to stay like this, Bull, but I really need to meet with my advisers," she said, reluctantly pulling away, "I've learned some grave news, I need to tell them." Bull nodded, understanding in his gaze. "Go, I can wait," he smiled.   
"Your agents confirm there are gaatlok barrels in Denerim's palace?" Josephine gasped at Leliana. Leliana nodded, a grave look on her face, "Yes," she sighed, "And in Val Royaeux, and across the Free Marches. The Winter Palace is not the only target." Yennifer prayed that there were no dangers close to the Trevelyan estate. As much as her father wanted nothing more to do with her, she did not want to hear any news that he had been killed. "The Qunari are one order away from destroying every noble house in the known world," Cullen said despairingly. Josephine stepped forward, "There is a bright side," she said, "Warning the ambassador's of the danger will remind them of the inquisition's value." Leliana looked across at Josephine with an expression that said she did not want to say what she was about to tell them. "Not when the inquisition is responsible for that threat," she said. Yennifer's head snapped round to the spymaster. "I take it you have new information?" she pressed. "The elven servant handling the barrels confessed to working for the Qunari," Leliana nodded. "But the servant was Orlesian," Josephine said, "That implicates Orlais, not us!" Leliana sighed, "But the barrels arrived at the Winter Palace on the Inquisition's supply manifest..." Yennifer felt her heart sink. This was just fantastic. Cullen sighed, running a hand through his hair, "How are we supposed to fight a war when we can't even trust our own people?!" he snapped. "Who got the barrels onto the supply manifest?" Yennifer asked. "Several of the inquisition's elven workers have disappeared," Leliana explained, "I had their backgrounds checked. They joined the inquisition after fleeing the chaos in Kirkwall." Cullen turned to look at the spymaster, "I remember when Kirkwall was at it's worse," he said, "Many of the cities elves converted to the Qun trying to find a better life." "And the Qunari turned them into spies," Josephine sighed, shaking her head sadly. Yennifer took a deep breath and surveyed her advisers as they looked to her again to make a huge decision. "We stopped Corypheus and saved the world," she said, "We can't let an outside threat change who we are." Josephine looked furious. She burst into a fit of uncharacteristic rage, addressing Leliana, Cullen and Yennifer angrily, "I fought to protect the inquisition in this Exalted Council, and for what?! So we could deceive and threaten those we _claimed_ to protect?!" she shouted. Cullen turned to her, a frown causing lines to appear on his forehead, "Once we locate the spies - " "This isn't about the spies!" Josephine snapped, rounding on the commander, pointing a finger at him and Leliana in turn, "You hid the Qunari body. You all but seized control of the Winter Palace!" Cullen stepped towards her, his frown deepening, "We did what was right!" he shouted, "Not what was politically convenient!" Josephine threw her hands in the air in despair. "Do you know what this has cost us with Orlais and Ferelden? They are planning to dismantle us as we speak!" she cried, before looking away, avoiding their eyes, "And perhaps they are right." Suddenly, Yennifer's hand began to cripple her. The green light crackled and snapped out in green, wicked tendrils, reaching up to her elbow. It felt like the hand was being sawed through with a blunt knife, slowly and painfully. She clutched it to her body, and cried out in a mix of pain and rage. "Shit, damn it!" she growled, "We save Ferelden, and they're angry! We save Orlais, and _they're_ angry. We close the Breach _twice_ and my own hand wants to kill me... Can one thing in this _FUCKING_ world just stay fixed?!" The advisers stared at her, unable to believe the usually refined and collected inquisitor had finally cracked under the immense pressure. The walked round the table towards her, slowly and almost reluctantly. She took a deep breath before she snapped again, "I need to get to the Darvaarad," she growled, "You can all fight amongst yourselves once I'm... once I'm back." She choked back a sob, because she knew, judging by the way her hand was acting up, and the strength of the Qunari force, that her chances of returning were slim. "Thank you, Inquisitor," Leliana said quietly, eyes on the ground like a scolded child. "Would you... Would you like us to inform the council of the danger?" Josephine asked carefully. "Yes," she replied, "If we fail the council needs to know what happened." Leliana stepped forward, "I will inform them personally," she said. Josephine reached across to her, "Leliana, I can..." "No," the spymaster cut her off, "Your job is hard enough as it is." Cullen sighed, "I'll have guards around the mirror, in case the Qunari decide to attack," he said. Leliana stepped forward and laid a hand on Yennifer's shoulder. "Maker watch over you," she whispered.  
Yennifer ran to the tavern where Bull was waiting for her, holding Ashaanti on his lap. As soon as she laid eyes on her daughter, she burst into tears. She swept the little girl up into her arms and sobbed into her soft, sweet smelling skin. Ashaanti was confused, and she stroked her mother's hair gently. Yennifer realised now that if things didn't go to plan, she would never see Ashaanti again. She sat down on a bar stool and held the little girl in front of her, looking into her face. "I want you to know, I love you so much my sweet, sweet girl," she sniffed, smiling through her tears. Ashaanti didn't seem convinced and she reached her hands out to clutch at Yennifer's armor in her tiny grey fists. "I will always love you, don't ever forget that. Mama might not be able to come back, but I want you to know that I want this. I want to go, if it means you will be safe. Just know, you are the greatest thing I ever did, the best gift I ever got, and I love you so much!" She broke down again, fresh tears pouring down her face. She stood up, clutching her daughter to her chest again. Bull stepped forward, wrapping his huge arms around them both, and Yennifer felt his cheek, wet with tears, pressing against her face. "But papa's going to always be with you, he'll care for you and raise you right," Yennifer whispered. Bull took a deep breath, "No, he won't," he whispered back, "Uncle Krem is going to take you far away, but just know, we both did this for you, Ashaanti." Yennifer pulled away from him. "No," she snapped, "No, you are staying here, you're not coming. She can't lose both of us!" Bull frowned at her, "Do you think I'm going to just sit here and let you go and walk into death on your own?" he snapped. Yennifer shook her head, "I won't be on my own! Dorian, Sera, Cassandra... They've already said they will come! I don't want you there. And besides, you're injured, you won't be any help!" "It's settled Yennifer! I'm coming with you!" Bull bellowed, and Ashaanti began to cry. Krem stepped forward then, his bottom lip quivering slightly. "Let me take her, Your Worship," he said, his voice hoarse. He and Bull had shared a moment of grief together. All the years they'd spent at each other's side meant it was not easy for them to say goodbye to each other. Yennifer knew she needed to go. She had to get to the Darvaarad, she had to end this. Usually, Ashaanti was happy to be left with her parent's friends. Even at her young age, she seemed to have an understanding that her parents were busy, and never seemed to mind when she was babysat by others. But now, she refused to let go of her mother. She whimpered and cried, her fingers clutching the material of Yennifer's clothes so tightly she almost ripped them. The half of her that was Qunari meant she was stronger than the average child, and Krem had to use all his strenght to pry the small, chubby fingers apart. Once Yennifer was free, she turned away, almost running from the screaming child who's hands reached out desperately for her mother. Once she was outside the tavern, Yennifer rested her head against the wall and sobbed, loud and ugly and pathetic. She could still hear Ashaanti's desperate cries, her pleas for her mother to come back. Yennifer almost went back. She almost gave up. But she couldn't. She couldn't falter. If she turned back, she had lost. If she went back to her child she would never be torn away from her again and the Qunari would come for them. She took a deep breath, jumping out of her skin when Bull appeared beside her, resting a hand on her shoulder. His face was stained with tears. He was so stricken with grief, and she could see in his face that he hated this. He'd never felt fear, pain, sadness and grief like this before. He took her hand in his, clutching it so tight it was almost painful. And together they left their daughter behind. They left certainty behind. They left behind the life they had spent so long building, the life of love, laughter, fun and joy, and ventured into what could potentially be the end of that life. "No matter how far," Bull whispered. Yennifer took a deep breath, and shakily answered, "No matter."


	17. Chapter 17

Yennifer stood in front of the eluvian, waiting for Dorian, Sera and Bull, who were being briefed by Leliana. She swayed on the spot, the pain in her hand was edging on unbearable, but the pain in her heart was almost canceling it out. She couldn't get the sound of Ashaanti's devastated sobs out of her head. It rang in her ears as though the child were nestled in her brain, filling her entire being with her cries. _I'm a terrible mother,_ she thought to herself. She should have gone back, she should have cradled her daughter, comforted her and kissed her cheek and took her far away from all this danger, all this horror and evil that seemed to follow Yennifer everywhere. _I'm reckless,_ her thoughts continued, pushing her, goading her and making her feel worse than she already did. She should never have brought Ashaanti into the world. She should have given the child away when she was born. Should have given her to Bull and told him to leave. She should have lied, told him she hated him, didn't love him anymore, anything to get him to go and never return. She was dangerous to be around. Everywhere she went she attracted trouble, leaving ruin and death in her wake. Bull didn't deserve it, and neither did Ashaanti. But there was nothing she could do now to get him to leave. He would tell her to shut up, tell her he didn't care how much she hated him. He'd tell her she'd have to kill him and put him in a box to get him to leave her side. The tears stopped coming now. There were none left, and her eyes burned from the dry tear ducts, drier than the sands of the Western Approach. She felt her companions approach, felt the gentle giant rest his hand carefully on her waist as he pulled her to him, clutching her in an embrace that seemed to bolster her somewhat. He had that effect on her. He pulled her broken pieces back together, tying the shattered shards together with nothing but the strength of his love. Without saying a word, Yennifer detached herself from him and stepped through the mirror. There was no going back from here. _Goodbye, Ashaanti,_ she thought, praying that her daughter would somehow know, somehow hear her mother reaching to her across the void.   
Once they were all in the Crossroads, Yennifer felt she had lost the interest in the place. What had been exciting, exhilarating, vast and majestic to her the first couple of times now made her feel weary, tired, broken. She saw the new mirror in front of her, and trudged towards it dejectedly. "Red told us what happened with your hand," Bull said quietly, his voice cutting through the tense silence like a knife, "So this is it huh?" She could hear it in his voice, the sound of fear and sadness at how dire her situation was, peppered with anger that she hand't told him how bad her hand had got. She turned round to him, looking upon the man she loved, the only man she'd ever loved. Their eyes met, and it was as if they were both thinking the same thing. The long nights they'd spent together, limbs tangled in limbs, lips crushed together, hands exploring one another's bodies hungrily, sighing each other's names and making each other feel things that no one else in all of Thedas could make them feel. "Whatever happens, I wouldn't trade the years we've had together for anything," she whispered, "I love you." He closed his eye, scrunching his lids together so tightly it was almost like he was hoping none of this had happened and everything would go back to normal when he opened them. But no, he opened his eye and saw they were still here, and he sighed, exhausted and terrified. "Love you too... Kadan," he replied, his voice hoarse. Dorian stepped forward and took Yennifer's hands in his, his eyes wet with tears that he tried desperately to blink back. "Enjoy me while you can," he whispered, his thick and almost choked voice giving his emotions away, "I expect you'll miss me terribly later." He turned to walk away, but Yennifer grabbed him into a bone crushing embrace. He'd been a fantastic friend to her over these years, and she wished so badly that she didn't have to drag him through this with her. "Thank you," she whispered, her voice almost desperate, as if she felt he didn't understand just how grateful she was for him, "Thank you for everything." His hands clutched at the fabric of her cloak tightly, and he pressed his face into her neck. His thoughts went back to all the times she'd come to him, for advice, for friendly conversation, and most surprising to him, just to be in his company. He'd gone through his whole life being judged and hated for who he was, and finding her was like finding a pot of gold. She had actually _wanted_ to be his friend, pretty much gone out of her way to make sure he knew that she valued his presence, and he couldn't believe that he was now so close to losing her. She didn't deserve this fate. He felt the magic of her hand crackling against his shoulder, and he winced. He was a _mage_ , he should have been able to conjure some sort of magic to help heal her. But he couldn't, there was nothing he could do. This woman who had healed him with her friendship, who had loved and cherished him with every fiber of her being, protected and defended him and told him he was brave without realising it was the one thing he'd needed to hear, and there was nothing he could do to save her. He pulled away from her then, grabbing her face between his hands. "I'm so sorry, forgive me," she whispered, her face full of regret and sadness that she was probably taking him to die with her. "There's nothing to forgive, my dearest, dearest friend," Dorian whispered back, resting his forehead against hers. "It's been the utmost honor to have been able to call you a friend, Yennifer Trevelyan." He walked away then, storming to the edge of the path to stare out over the vast expanse of the Crossroads. Yennifer looked to Sera then, who stepped back when Yennifer approached her for a show of affection. A look of fear flashed across her face, but she quickly hid it, putting the worst attempt at a fake smile on her face. Her voice came out a few octaves higher than it usually did, the panic in her voice clear, "Right," she stammered, a nervous laugh escaping her lips, "One last time to be legends! Try to keep up, Yenny!" She seemed to almost be vibrating, her nerves and adrenaline seeming to be the only thing keeping her from breaking down. She saw Yennifer as the big sister she never got. She'd taken her in and made her part of a family, she'd watched over her and involved her in everything, giving her the love and acceptance she so desperately craved. How was it that she could be losing her? She made a mental note to make sure that if the Inquisitor was going to die, she was going to die with her so that she didn't have to go into the next place on her own. As much as the thought of that next place terrified Sera, it terrified her more to think of Yennifer going there alone, with no one to be with her, to hold her hand, to offer comfort and piece of mind. Yennifer stood up straight, putting on the brave face that had led the Inquisition for so long. "We all knew this was probably our last time out together," she said, turning to the mirror, "Let's make it a good one."  
They arrived to the Darvaarad and it quickly became clear that the Qunari were expecting them, and as soon as they emerged from the eluvian they were attacked by a saarebas and four soldiers. Yennifer allowed the built up magic in her hand to push them back, injuring all of them gravely before the saarebas could shield his allies. Bull seemed to be releasing all his anger and worry and fear out through the blade of his axe, beheading the usually difficult saarebas with one swing, and chopping a nearby soldier into pieces, hacking at him furiously, grunted with exertion all the while. Yennifer stabbed her blade into the mouth of a soldier who ran at her, foolishly coming to battle with no helmet. The blade of her dagger protruded from the back of his skull, and he struggled desperately, hands clutching hers and trying to pull the dagger out, but he choked on his own blood before he could succeed. Sera and Dorian finished of the remaining soldiers, Dorian using his Walking Bomb ability to send one's limbs flying in all directions, and Sera carefully lining up a powerful shot straight into the armpit of another, the soft skin not protected by the armor. As they progressed towards the fortress, Yennifer's hand snapped and exploded again, this time bringing her down to her knees in agony. "Kadan!" Bull gasped, rushing towards her and trying to help her up. In a fit of pain and anger, she shoved him away, a feral growl escaping her. As she realised what she'd done she whipped her head round to face him, her eyes full of her apology. He shook his head, "It's OK," he whispered, "Are you alright?" She simply shook her head, allowing him to help her up before carrying on. She used the mark to explode a clutch of nearby gaatlok barrels, instantly killing the reinforcements that had come to greet them, and they group made their way up to the next level, greeted by a heavily armored door, like a vault, surrounded by soldiers. They gave them a difficult fight, and Yennifer almost lost her head when one of the soldiers swung his maul around, just skimming her cheek and leaving a deep gash in the skin. Bull growled furiously, burying his axe in the attacker's head, hitting him with such force that the helmet caved in, the metal denting the skull, snapping off one of the soldier's horns and squashing his brain. The soldier staggered, then fell to the ground, his body still twitching minutes later. When they had cleared the area of threats, they came to stand infront of the huge door, and Yennifer sighed. "That's quite the door," she said, "How are we supposed to get through?" She tried pushing the mechanics, Bull tried kicking it, and Dorian tried to blow it up with fire, but it still stood there strong. "Could this help?" Sera asked, picking a key up off the floor, wiping the blood smears onto her clothes. Yennifer took it from her and turned it over in her hands. "It's too small to open this door," she said, ready to drop it and cast it off as useless. Sera sighed and shook her head, "Obviously... It's for that!" she said, pointing to a caged off area just in front of the vault door. When Yennifer unlocked it gate to the area, she found three wheels, mechanisms that seemed to move the bars that were holding the door closed. She scratched her head, walking to the first wheel and turning it a few times. She went to the next one and did the same, and something in the door moved, clanking loudly. "That!" Sera exclaimed, "Be as tricksy with all of them and we'll be through in no time!" It took almost an hour, but eventually, after much deliberation over the order she should be turning the wheels, the door finally swung open slowly, groaning on it hinges. _Finally._ They raced through the door, and another group of soldiers was waiting for them. Sera snuck into the room, aiming an explosive arrow at a nearby gaatlok barrel. It burst on contact, and set of a chain reaction, the floor shaking as though the world was falling down around them. Yennifer clutched her hands over her ears, the explosion seeming to vibrate inside her brain, but it eliminated the soldiers, and she tried her best not to look at the body parts strewn across the floor as they passed through. She was beginning to become weary of killing now. As they moved through the fortress, they came upon a small room, almost like an office, filled with books, valuable objects and magical items. A huge dragon skull was propped up against the back wall, a glowing skull, like the ones they'd come across strewn all over Southern Thedas was on one desk, and a shard of red lyrium was recklessly unprotected on the floor. On one desk, Yennifer found a piece of parchment, but the document was written entirely in Qunlat, and she could not decipher it, however the page was covered in complicated diagrams, including blue prints of Halamshiral, as well as many other fortresses and palace in Thedas. Yennifer's blood ran cold... They really were planning to blow up all these places. Her stomach turned when it dawned on her that if she did not succeed, Ashaanti was still at the Winter Palace, and would still be there when the attack happened if Krem didn't get away in time. She felt panic rising in her chest. Bull looked over her shoulder and his face paled as well as he realised the same. They shared a worried look, a look that said _Failure is not an option._ Yennifer looked around the room, surveying all the items that were piled here. "Morrigan said before that the key to unlocking eluvians could be anything... including knowledge or power," she scratched her head and sighed, "So they're stockpiling both... That's how they got the keystone and opened so many of the eluvians we've seen... Let's press on." She saw Bull eyeing up the dragon skull in the back of the room, and gave his arm a gentle nudge. "That skull would make a wicked arm chair," he said, almost wistfully. Yennifer snorted a small giggle, but stopped abruptly when she realised no one else joined in. "We can laugh, you know," she said quietly, "I know it's not the happiest of situations, but if there's one thing we're good at, it's finding light in the darkness... I don't bring you lot along for the silence, you know!" Dorian gave a small snort, that turned into a loud but slightly sad laugh. Sera joined in, her trademark dirty laugh making them all laugh harder. Bull chuckled, his body shaking as he did. Yennifer felt tears spring to her eyes as she joined in the laughter. How she would miss them. These people had shaped and moulded her into who she was today, had bolstered her and supported her through thick and thin. She thought back to her friends back at the Winter Palace as well, and how she wished they were back at Skyhold, in the Herald's Rest playing Wicked Grace in front of the roaring fire, all swigging the ale that they loved so much, but no one could admit tasted like shite. She thought of Varric, and how he always lovingly called her Princess, how he had introduced her to Bianca, his crossbow, with all the pride that a father would introduce his first born child. She thought of Thom Rainier, who had repeatedly told her she inspired him. Had she inspired him to shed the facade that was Blackwall, and become who he really was? She felt proud when she thought of the man he was now. He had well and truly made up for his past crimes, and she hoped he continued to thrive as Thom. She thought of Cullen, how she'd often found him wandering the halls of Skyhold in the middle of the night, clutching his head and breathing deeply through the pains of his lyrium withdrawal. How he'd been so close to going back to it, and how he'd trusted her enough to take her advice and stay away from it. Josephine came to her next. The woman who's poise and grace knew no bounds. How she went out of her way to make sure everyone in Skyhold was comfortable, and how she had time to listen to anyone, no matter the weight of her burdens. And then there was Leliana. Yennifer admired her, she even feared her, but she knew that in Leliana she had a friend for life, and she remembered all the times Leliana had indulged her in her stories of the Hero of Ferelden, stories from the Fifth Blight, and all the things the spymaster had seen in her long life. She thought of Vivienne and how to strong First Enchanter had a heart of steel, with a strong need to protect people, by any means necessary. Yennifer thought her self serving and condescending at first, and would be a liar if she said Vivienne wasn't difficult to get along with, but she had taken the time to understand the woman, and she appreciated her views, and in return Vivienne gave her respect. Vivienne was almost like a mother figure to Yennifer, oft times strict and difficult, but Yennifer knew that Vivienne came from a good place. And Cole. Oh Cole. He was such a precious boy, caring and kind, always trying to help. Yennifer couldn't help but love him, and though people had been afraid of him at first, he had become a valuable part of the Inquisition, soothing the emotional damage left by the battles and the lives that were lost. And Cassandra. Divine Victoria. Yennifer thought back to her first meeting with Cassandra, back when she was absolutely sure she would never, ever be friends with her. She'd pointed her sword in Yennifer's face, grabbed her forcefully and threatened her. She'd eyed her with suspicion, and Yennifer was terrified that Cassandra would end her life if she didn't do as she was told. But their friendship had become something so profound, that those days of mistrust were like those memories that are so distant, you can't decide whether it truly happened or if it was a dream. Yennifer was confident that Thedas would be left in good hands with Cassandra as the Divine.   
The group left the study, following the fortress round to a huge pair of ornate wooden doors that groaned as they opened, revealing a chamber swarming with Qunari soldiers. But they were not what Yennifer's eyes were drawn to. In the background, through a gap in the wall, she saw a huge dragon, stuck inside the next chamber, flames surrounding it and keeping it oppressed, trapped in the center of the floor. Tight ropes were wrapped around the beast's head, limbs and tail, probably used to control her, and there were deep lacerations on her legs where she had most probably been beaten and cut to try and make her more submissive. Yennifer gasped, "Dragon's Breath is... an actual dragon?!" she wondered loudly. The Qunari soldiers spun round upon realising they had company, and one shouted out in Qunlat, "Teth a! Bas!" The Viddasala came running out onto a nearby balcony and began breathlessly shouting commands to her army, "Inquisition! Nehraa ataashi-asaara meravas adim kata!" The soldiers began to march ominously towards them, drawing their weapons and getting ready to strike, but the Viddasala was not finished. "Hissrad!" she shouted, looking straight at Bull now. Yennifer felt her breath catch in her throat. "Hissrad, now please! Vinek kathas!" Yennifer had no idea what that meant, but she was sure it was something along the lines of asking Bull to help her fight the Inquisition. She turned to Bull and saw his face twist into a disgusted grimace. "Not a chance, Ma'am," Bull growled. The Viddasala looked from Bull to Yennifer, eyes lingering on their dragon's tooth necklaces, her turn to look disgusted. "So be it," she hissed, gesturing to the soldiers to attack. Yennifer threw herself into the thick of the fight, a sudden burst of energy pushing her to fight all the harder. She single handedly took down three soldiers faster than they could react, using her Thousand Cuts ability to cut through them like they were nothing. When she was finished, she turned to see Bull staring at her, a look of pride and lust in his eyes that said _That's my girl._ Dorian made short work of the remaining soldiers, luring them over to a cluster of gaatlok barrels and zapping them with an electric current, causing an explosion that shook the ground and destroyed the soldiers, turning their bodies to ash. "I've been wanting to do that for so long!" Dorian shouted, clearly excited by his handiwork. He turned to Bull then, his voice concerned, "Are you alright, Bull?" Bull gave a grateful nod to Dorian, "The Iron Bull is just fine," he replied, "When this is over, drinks are on me... Probably a lot of 'em. You ready to finish this, Kadan?" Yennifer smiled up at him, "As long as you're by my side," she whispered. "Always," he replied, walking over to grab her round the waist, lifting her off the ground to kiss her, hard and hungrily. She grabbed his horns to hold herself up, kissing him back. She didn't ever want to break away, didn't want to accept that this was probably the last time she would ever feel these lips on hers. She pushed her face closer to his, memorising what she already knew. The feel of his nose pressed against her face, the way his eyelashes tickled her cheek, the musky smell of his skin, the way his soft lips fit against hers like they were made to kiss each other and no one else, the feeling of the tough leather of his eye patch rubbing her face. She stroked the horns, feeling the rough texture as it scraped on the soft skin of her palms. How was she going to carry on, when she went to the next life? How would she be able to cope without having him there anymore? "Ahem..." came the uncomfortable cough from Dorian, who was stood in the background, hands on his hips, tapping his toe impatiently, a smirk pushing up one side of his moustache. "I believe we have a plot to overthrow, and we don't all have a love interest to play tonsil tennis with before our inevitable demise, you know!" The mage gestured for the couple to lead the way, and Bull set Yennifer back on her feet. She turned and ran through the door, the sound of the dragon's tormented growls filling her ears. She tried to remain calm. How many dragons had she slain in her life? But that was years ago! When she entered the next chamber and saw the dragon, she felt about two inches tall, the beast towering over them. But Yennifer couldn't bring herself to order her companions to attack the dragon. She had suffered enough, and it was clear from the hunched back and the slower movements and her creased wings that she was not fighting to the best of her ability. She was weak, broken, at the end of her tether. Bull looked excited, but Yennifer put her hand on his chest. "We attack the Qunari, but don't touch the dragon. I want to free her," she whispered. Sera nodded in agreement, "How have they managed to ruin fighting a dragon?!" she exclaimed. Bull huffed in protest, but still ran out into the chamber to attack the soldiers that were trying to subdue the angry, confused dragon. Yennifer made her way around the balcony of the chamber, trying to turn the wheels that controlled the circles of flame on the ground. She managed to get them aligned, but when she tried to turn them so the dragon could make her way to the gate that led out of the chamber, she found the wheel wouldn't turn. "It's obstructed!" Dorian shouted from the bottom of the chamber, "Over there!" He pointed to a cart holding a bunch of gaatlok barrels that was stopping the flames from moving. Yennifer ran down, narrowly escaping a jet of poison that the dragon spat at her. She released the magic from her hand, exploding the obstruction quickly, running back to the wheel to turn the flames and direct the dragon out. Sera ran to open the gates, twisting the huge wheels on either side to pull them open. "This will be grand!" she shouted, laughing maniacally. The dragon stopped attacking those around her, looking up at Yennifer, a look that Yennifer could only describe as gratitude. It gave a gentle growl, and Yennifer nodded to the beast, watching as she turned and leaped down the bridge outside, grabbing one of the fleeing Qunari soldiers by the head and carrying him off into the air, dropping him over the valley beyond. Yennifer and the group ran out onto the bridge, ready to end this, but were met by a massive resistance, and the Viddasala, flanked by her giant pet saarebas, waiting for them. Before she could say anything, Yennifer's hand exploded into a flurry of pain, like thousands of daggers cutting into her at once. She cried out in pain, clutching her fist to her stomach, the pain almost bringing her to her knees. The Viddasala watched her as one would watch a pathetic animal dying slowly. "Dear Inquisitor, you have such little time left. You must finally see the truth," she said, her voice almost sounding amused, "Elven magic already tore the sky apart. If the agents of Fen'harel are not stopped, you will shatter the world as well." Yennifer grunted through the agony, the Viddasala's words threatening to make her head blow off with anger and confusion. "Whatever you think I've done, mass assassination isn't a good moral high ground!" she shouted back at the Qunari woman. She glared down at Yennifer, "The South was poisoned by these elves' manipulations. It suffers just as you do now," she said, motioning to the mark, "You would have died from the mark of the mark on your hand were it not for the help of one of their chief agents." Yennifer frowned. What was she talking about? What agent? "The same agent who helped seal the Breach. Who led you to Skyhold. Who gave Corypheus the orb, then founded the Inquisition." Yennifer turned to look at her companions, and they all had the same shocked expressions of realisation on their faces. Yennifer had not caught on yet though. She couldn't think straight, her head whipped back round as the Viddasala continued. "Solas. Agent of Fen'harel."


	18. Chapter 18

Yennifer felt as though her heart had crumbled, the broken shards falling into the deepest pits of her body. She couldn't think straight, and she felt as though she might have been dreaming. _Solas._ She remembered how he'd been guarded at first, putting up a wall between himself and everyone else, but Yennifer had managed to coax him out of his shell, she made him see he could be her friend, and she listened eagerly as he had shared his knowledge with her. She'd seen him as a close friend, someone she could trust unconditionally, who would tell her things as they were, never sugar coating them. He was a good man, she'd thought, taking no joy in killing, forming profound friendships with spirits. He had led them to Skyhold, he had been instrumental in defeating Corypheus and closing the Breach... Why had he lied? Had he really used her? Is this why he'd left? He used her and the inquisition as a means to an end, and once he was done with them he left? She thought of the inquisition then... _all those people,_ how they had followed her and supported her, thinking she was this strong woman who had delivered them from evil, when really, she had unknowingly been serving Solas' needs. She heard Bull practically growling behind her. She turned to see his face twisted in anger, his fists clenched at his sides. He was furious. Yennifer turned back to the Viddasala, who stood with her arms folded, watching to see what Yennifer did with this information. But she refused to believe the Viddasala. It seemed the woman would do anything to harm the inquisition, and she wouldn't go off anything she was told by an enemy. "Solas wanted that orb," Yennifer snapped, "If these 'Agents of Fen'harel' gave it to Corypheus, he couldn't be one of them!" The Viddasala snorted in amusement, "Or perhaps he was tasked with removing the evidence of his groups interference," she replied, "Solas tricked us all. _He_ pushed a dying Qunari into the Winter Palace, to lure you into opposing us. Without him we could have brought the South peace and wisdom along the gentle path. Now we must take the way of blades." Yennifer shook her head, as if doing so would reverse everything that had happened. Her hand flared up again, and she staggered around, the pain getting worse now. It was unbearable, almost as if the skin was being flayed from her body. A flash of pity crossed the Viddasala's eyes as she watched, as though she was now realising the inquisition had no idea of Solas' actions. "Panahedan, Inquisitor," she said, "If it is any consolation, Solas will not outlive you." And with that, she turned and fled through the eluvian, the huge saarebas following behind her. When the pain ebbed away enough for Yennifer to rise to her feet, she turned to her companions. Sera was furious, Dorian almost looked sad, and Bull was practically steaming, the tendons in his forearms and the muscles in his biceps twitching and flexing with his need to hit something. He shook his head at Yennifer, knowing how close she was to the elf, knowing that she wanted to save him. She gave him a look that showed her decision was made. "No matter what, Solas was one of us," she whispered, "We _have_ to save him." She turned away from their inevitable disagreements, marching through the eluvian, drawn towards Solas.  
They emerged on the otherside of the eluvian into what looked like elven ruins, the path ahead overgrown with wild plants that reach out and grabbed at their clothes and hair, the ground cracked and uneven. "They can't have gotten far," Yennifer said, running forward and following the path to a flight of stone stairs. As she reached the top she felt her hand start to flare up again, but this time she felt the magic powering up, feeling stronger and more painful than ever. She looked down at the hand, the green light becoming brighter and brighter. Suddenly the light engulfed her body and the pain radiated through her core. She fell to the ground, screaming, "It's going to... everybody back!" But the mark exploded, sending a wave of energy and offensive magic cracking around her. Her friends had ran forward to help her, but the mark attacked them, throwing them away from her. She gasped, turning to see them laid on the ground behind her. As they rose to their feet, Sera brushed herself off, wincing in pain where she had landed flat on her back. "Solas needs to help.. He better! We're owed!" she snapped angrily. Bull was watching Yennifer, a concerned, frightened look on his face. She had changed in the hours since they'd left the palace. She looked exhausted, almost gaunt, and he knew that with every episode where the mark flared, her energy and strength were depleting. He was losing her. He had always thought that he would grow old with her, that she'd get to a good old age and would die peacefully, painlessly, in her sleep. He didn't want her to die like this, in pain, frightened and traumatised. He tried to keep a hold on his composure, tried to keep his tears locked away inside his eye. He didn't want to make things worse for her by letting her see that he was starting to give up, starting to lose faith that she was going to survive. Yennifer gave them all an apologetic look, clearly devastated that she'd harmed them. "It's OK," Dorian called to her from where he'd landed, "You didn't mean it, we know you didn't, just keep going, we are with you!" Yennifer took a deep, shaky breath, turning to carry on up the stairs. When they reached the top they came to a new eluvian, and could see the next place they needed to be across a huge expanse. Further away, they could see an island with a huge eluvian on it, the biggest they'd ever seen. "That has to be where Solas is," Bull said, the hope in his voice palpable. They stepped through the eluvian, to be greeted by a horde of soldiers, assassins and spear throwers. On the hill above, the Viddasala watched, shaking her head in disappointment that Yennifer was still fighting. The soldiers fought with a new fervor, as though they had been given the order to go absolutely out of their way to make sure that Yennifer never got to Solas first. An axe wielding beast of a Qunari swung at Yennifer and she dodged just enough, the blade skimming her forehead and leaving blood pouring down into her eye. She crawled between his legs, slicing the back of his ankles with her daggers and bringing him to his knees, howling in pain. Her dagger was buried into the exposed skin between his helmet and the collar of his Shokra-taar. Dorian was releasing jets of ice, rivulets of electricity and set off an explosion of flames, bringing down soldiers like there was no tomorrow. His carefully planned attacks making him a force to be reckoned with. Sera was leaping all over the battlefield, loosing arrows at incredible speed, shooting them dangerously close to her companions, often skimming her friend's cheeks, and once or twice through Bull's horns. Usually, Bull would laugh or shout praise and compliments to her, always voicing his fascination at the elf's skills, but today the only sound coming from him was his furious shouts and growls and grunts as he swung his axe, thrashing through the enemy and hacking them to pieces. Yennifer was almost frightened, worried he was going to burn out again. He'd never been so furious in all the years she'd known him, not even when she'd stayed back in the Fade at Adament Fortress, when they were separated. Yennifer kept watching him, making sure he was OK, her concern of him losing his mind and not paying attention to his coming attacks was unbearable.  
When they had managed to defeat the soldiers here, they pressed on through the next eluvian, they came to a long bridge that was swarming with soldiers, but also covered in gaatlok barrels. Had they been planning to destroy the bridge to stop them crossing? Yennifer felt the power in her hand again, the pain coming back with a vengeance. This time, she managed to control it, using her strength to release it before it got too strong, and causing a massive explosion, the gaatlok barrels going off like a chain reaction, wiping out the soldiers one by one. The bridge rumbled and shook, and she motioned for her friends to get to the eluvian on the other side. They ran across, diving through to emerge into a courtyard, a few soldiers waiting for them. Yennifer sliced the throat of the first soldier to come to her, his blood splattering onto her face, mixing with her own blood that was still pouring from the wound on her forehead. She grimaced as she tasted the blood on her lips, spitting it onto the ground, hoping it was her own blood she tasted and not the soldier's. Once the soldiers were dead, they group ran forward, hoping to press on, but the Viddasala looked at them menacingly as she called out a command that almost stopped Yennifer's heart. "Saarebas! Meravas adim kata! Saarath!" A blinding blue light flooded the area, and a deafening crack revealed Saarath, the huge Saarebas mage who had been by the Viddasala's side all this time, who had been hiding in the shadows. He had huge iron cuffs around his wrists, attached to chains that were linked to an iron collar that was fixed around his neck. His face was hidden by an armored visor, heightening the terror Yennifer felt when she looked at him. If they had thought the saarebas they had previously fought were hard, they had no words to describe Saarath. He threw huge jets of electricity at them, and opened up force fields of electricity around their feet, paralyzing them while he continued to warp the air around them, using it to pull them closer, pulling them together so he could cause chain reactions that affected them all. Yennifer slashed at his legs desperately as Bull hacked away with his axe. They kept catching each other's eye, both absolutely certain that this was it. Saarath was seeminly invincable, throwing up a huge magical barrier around himself that deflected Sera and Dorian's ranged attacks, leaving Yennifer and Bull exhausted as they worked to break the barrier. "SERA!" came Dorian's cry of desperation from the background. Yennifer turned to see Sera laid on the ground, motionless. Dorian just stared at the spot where she lay, unable to look away. There was nothing Yennifer could do right now, and she went back to slashing at the Qunari's legs. As he lowered his hands, she reached out to grab one of the chains, using it to hoist herself up onto his shoulders. She lodged her knife deep into his flesh, but he turned himself into a human lightning bolt, shocking her and throwing her off his body, seeming to be completely unaffected by her attack. She landed near Sera, and got a glimpse of the elf, her eyes wide open in fear, staring around the battlefield, her skin paler than snow. She crawled across to her, lifting her head gently to pour a healing potion into her mouth. Sera coughed and choked, none of the potion going down. "You can't help her right now!" Dorian shouted, his voice thick with sadness, "Help Bull!" Yennifer reluctantly peeled herself away from Sera's side, racing back across the battlefield to help Bull, but they were all thrown back as Saarath began to grunt and groan in fury. He pulled hard on the chains that were holding him prisoner, and Yennifer gasped, shaking her head in disbelief as the thick, strong iron chains snapped as easily as a blade of grass. The huge saarebas leaped away from them, leaving them alone. The Viddasala staggered back, terror on her face as she called out to him, "Saarebas! Meravas! _Meravas!_ " She turned to look at Yennifer menacingly before leaving through the eluvian, "You will not leave here Inquisitor! Antaam, ebrashok adim!" Yennifer raced over to Sera, shaking her gently. "Please get up!" she cried desperately, tears running from her eyes and splashing onto Sera's face. Her eyes had stopped moving and her breathing had become so shallow it was barely noticeable. Yennifer turned to Dorian and Bull, both had grave looks on their faces, Dorian with tears in his eyes. "She's going to be OK," Yennifer whispered, "She has to be!" She could feel her hand welling up again, and she leaped away from Sera, dropping her body as she moved away to release her magic. The explosion wiped out the six Ben-Hassrath agents that had ran to meet them, and the tremor on the ground seemed to shock Sera. She jumped up from the ground, coughing and gasping desperately. "Sera!" Yennifer cried, racing over to grab the elf into an embrace. "What the frig?!" Sera exclaimed, "What happened?!" Yennifer smiled, releasing her friend and grabbing her face in her hands. "It doesn't matter, I'm just glad you're ok!"   
They pressed on, coming to a bridge, Saareth waiting at the other side, watching them as they approached. He didn't attack though, and as they got closer he vanished into thin air.They came to a second courtyard that was again teeming with soldiers, Ben-Hassrath agents, fighting with a new fervor, probably told to stop the inquisitor from getting to Solas first. Yennifer quickly realised she had the upper hand though, as the soldiers seemed somewhat distracted almost, realisation dawning on them that there was an unleashed saarebas somewhere nearby. The party managed to cut through them quickly, and when they got through the next eluvian, the Viddasala was standing across the new area, a small field that seemed to be on a cliff edge. The Viddasala looked furious, her body visibly shaking with anger, eyes that would cut Yennifer down if looks could kill. "You are dead, Inquisitor! Your soul is dust!" she shouted to them. Bull snorted angrily, stepping in front of Yennifer, squaring up to the Viddasala. "All right! Meravas katara!" he shot back. This seemed to deeply offend the Viddasala, whatever he'd said. But whatever it was that Bull had said, no matter how awful it was, it reminded Yennifer how much she loved it when he spoke his mother tongue. She smiled at how protective he was being, but still pushed him aside to make her way down to the battle field, completely missing the small, sad but proud grin Bull flashed in her direction. He was in awe of her strength. He was so proud of everything she'd overcome, and how even now, as she faced certain death, she refused to give up. The Viddasala stood her ground, unmoving, as the party ran towards her, turning to exit through the eluvian at the last moment. Yennifer stopped, watching in horror as a magical barrier erupted around the mirror, stopping them from getting through. "No!" she cried, hands clutching her head in despair. But there was no time to worry about Solas as Saarath dropped to the ground behind them, the tremor from him landing throwing them all off their feet. He had come back with a vengeance, manipulating the atmosphere to pull them close to him and then releasing an intense burst of energy to blast them away again. He spun around the battle field, powerful magic erupting from his body and sapping their energy. Yennifer and Bull stayed as close to him as possible, slashing and hacking at him with their weapons, taking melee damage from his fists as he swung them to perform his spells, whilst Dorian and Sera stayed on the outskirts of the battle, using range attacks, and taking strong ranged damage from Saarath's powerful magical abilities. This was going to be a long fight. Yennifer was slowly losing any hope of ever saving Solas, and her heart sank as Saarath managed to summon waves of demons, each wave stronger than the last. She had the feeling that Solas was long dead, but she wouldn't leave without seeing his body for herself, without making sure there wasn't anything she could do to help before leaving him in this dreadful place.   
They fought Saarath for what felt like hours, until finally his strength started to wane, his spells became less potent and further apart. Eventually he went into a strange trance, floating in mid air, but with a strong magical barrier surrounding him, spitting magic at anyone who came too close. "We can't touch him like this!" Dorian yelled, "Use the mark!" Yennifer looked at her hand, how it looked frightful, the skin bright red and raw, like it had been submerged in boiling water, the veins sticking out like snakes under her skin. The green magic was crackling angrily, and she thrust her hand into the air, releasing the magic in a spectacular explosion that knocked Saarath out of the air, dropping him flat on his back. He laid there, unmoving, but Yennifer was cautious. What if he wasn't really dead? She stepped closer, nudging his arm with her foot. No movement. She tapped the iron visor gently to see if he moved, but still nothing. "I think he's dead," Bull panted, raising his forearm to wipe the sweat from his face. She looked up at him, a triumphant smile on her face. "We did it," she said, "We all made it!" Bull allowed himself to smile back, and he swept her up in to his arms, holding her in a bone crushing hug. She sighed with relief, kissing him on the cheek. "Let me go, I need to see Solas," she whispered, and as Bull placed her back on her feet, she turned to the eluvian. "Let's go see our friend, then," she said, gesturing for them to follow her. " _Your_ friend," Sera snapped back. Bull nodded, "I don't like this, Yen," he said, "He betrayed us, he used you... I want to rip his pointy ears off his bald head." Yennifer silenced him with a look, "Be that as it may, if it weren't for him, Corypheus would still be here, and we'd probably all be dead." Bull grunted, clearly sticking to his guns but not wanting to argue. They walked to the eluvian in silence, the magical barrier disintegrated now so they could pass. Yennifer stepped through, but as Bull went to follow her, instead of breezing through behind her, he walked face first into a solid mirror. The eluvian had closed, trapping Yennifer on the other side, alone. "No," Bull whispered, laying a hand on the glass, "No, no no! Yennifer!" He punched the glass, panic rising in his throat, his breathing becoming shallow and tears springing to his eye. "Yennifer! Yennifer, no!" He began smacking and punching the glass, kicking it with his boot, and he pulled his axe off his back, ready to bash through the glass with the handle, when Dorian came running up behind him. "Stop it!" the mage snapped, trying to pull Bull away from the eluvian, "Bull! Stop it you fool, if you break the mirror she'll never get back through!" But Bull wasn't listening. How could this happen? She'd made it this far, she'd beaten the huge saarebas, she had gone through the deep roads and old elven libraries to fight off ancient spirits, she had fought some of the most formidable foes she'd ever come across, and he'd been there by her side all the way. But now, he was sure he'd lost her. He had no idea what was on the other side of that mirror. For all he knew, she was being hacked to pieces on the other side, she could be being tortured, pulled apart, beaten to a pulp. _And he wasn't there to protect her._ He raised the axe, readying himself for a crushing blow, when suddenly his hands froze in mid air. Dorian had cast the winter's grasp spell, encasing his hands and forearms in ice and he was unable to move them. "What are you doing?" Bull bellowed, spinning to Dorian, his face furious, "That's the mother of my child in there, she could be dying, let me go!" His voice was shaking, he was on the edge of an emotional breakdown. He struggled, using his strength to shatter the ice. He was ready to throw the axe at Dorian, ready to beat him to the ground, until he saw the mage's eyes were brimming with tears. "I can't let you break that mirror," Dorian whispered, the tears now spilling out of his eyes, "If there's even a chance that she survives whatever is in there, if there's any hope that she can come back, we can't fail her by breaking it and stopping her getting back through, we can't leave her trapped in there to die alone." Dorian looked truly terrified as images flashed through his mind of what could be happening through that eluvian. He shook with fear, clearly disturbed by what he was seeing in his mind's eye. Bull dropped the axe, sinking to his knees. Sera turned and stormed away to sit on the other side of the battle field, not able to stay near Bull, it was too hard to look at him, look at how distraught he was. She had to come back. She just... had to, right?  
Yennifer turned back to look at Bull as she stepped through the mirror, and she saw him follow but once she was through, the mirror seemed to close. The fluid magic that shimmered on the surface went hard, and all that Yennifer saw was her reflection looking back at her. She reached out a hand, expecting it to go back through, but all she felt was cold, hard glass. _Alone._ She took a deep, shaky breath, trying not to allow herself to be frightened. _This is it,_ she thought, _You knew this was going to happen. You knew you weren't going back. But it's OK, they will make it back, they will live._ She composed herself, turning to carry on alone, but she jumped back when she turned to see a Qunari looming over her, weapon raised for the attack. She landed on her backside, looking up at the attacker, only to find he wasn't moving. He was petrified, turned to stone, and when she got to her feet she noticed the entire area was full of stone Qunari soldiers. She walked among them, looking into the faces, set in hard expressions, no sign of fear of pain, they obviously didn't get a chance to react. Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice speaking in Qunari. "Ebasit kata. Itwa-ost," it said. But it wasn't the Viddasala. No, that was Solas. She ran towards the sound of the voice, stopping to hear it again, to get a sense of the direction it was coming from. "Maraas kata!" came the Viddasala's angry growl. Yennifer ran up a flight of stone steps towards the sound of the voices, and when she reached the top, she saw him there in the distance. He was dressed differently, he looked almost regal. His legs were encased in gold armor, and he wore a grey tunic, a wolf pelt wrapped around his shoulders like a sash. But it was him, alright. "Your forces have failed," he said to the Viddasala in a dismissive tone, turning away from her to walk towards the huge eluvian behind him, "Leave now and tell the Qunari to trouble me no further." As he walked away, the Viddasala gave a howl of anger, grabbing a spear from the ground and aiming it at Solas' back. Yennifer leaped forward to stop her as she made the motions to attack, but before the spear could leave her hand, she froze, turning to stone like her agents before. Yennifer stared... Did Solas do that? She stepped past the stone Viddasala, making towards her old friend. "Solas." She said his name, and he stopped in his tracks, turning to face her with a hint of a smile on his face. She returned the smile, but it was quickly replaced by a grimace of pain as her hand flared up, the pain now completely unbearable, bringing her to her knees as she screamed and groaned in agony. She looked up at him as he walked towards her, her vision clouded by the pained tears that had sprung to her eyes, but she clearly saw his eyes light up, and the pain stopped immediately. She gasped, looking down at the subdued hand. When she looked back up, she saw Solas' hand outstretched to her, and she took it gratefully, allowing him to pull her to her feet. "That should give us more time," he smiled, "I suspect you have questions." Yennifer looked at him, taking in the face she had missed so much. He had just vanished, with no explanation, and suddenly he was here again, but something was different about him, and he was being hunted by Qunari, one of whom she had just stood and watched turned to stone at his command, and he had been able to control the mark. _Of course I have questions!_ she wanted to shout. "The Viddasala was coming to kill you," Yennifer replied, "I wanted to get here first." Solas smiled, amusement and gratitude in his face, "I know," he said, but then he became sad, guilt washing over his face. "The mark you bear was bestowed upon you by the orb of Fen'harel... my orb," he said quietly. Yennifer stepped away from him, frowning slightly, "You're Fen'harel?" she asked, incredulous. "I was Solas first. 'Fen'harel' came later... an insult I took as a badge of pride. The Dread Wolf inspired hope in my friends and fear in my enemies... Not unlike Inquisitor I suppose. You also know the burden of a title that all but replaces your name." That she did. She smirked, thinking back to how many people she'd had to tell her name was not, in fact, Inquisitor, or Your Worship. She had lost count of the amount of times she'd been called Lady The Inquisitor Trevelyan, and although she knew people did it out of respect, it had definitely gotten to a point where she missed the sound of her own name. "Are you a fragment of what Fen'harel once was, like Mythal?" she asked. Solas' replying smile indicated that he'd missed her interest in him, how she had always had a million and one questions to ask him, and he looked at the young woman affectionately. "No," he replied, "This is all I have ever been. I sought to set my people free from slavery to would be gods. I broke the chains of all those who wished to join me. The false gods named me Fen'harel, and when they finally went too far, I formed the Veil and banished them forever... Thus I freed the elven people, and in so doing, destroyed their world." He looked honestly devastated. The pain in his face made Yennifer wince. How long must he have been holding this grief? "How did creating the Veil destroy their world?" she asked. "You saw the remains of Vir Dirthara. The library was intrinsically tied to the Fade, and the Veil destroyed it. There were countless other marvels, all dependent on the presence of the Fade, all destroyed. The elven legends of immortality? All true. It was not the arrival of humans that caused them to begin aging... It was me. The Veil took everything from the elves, even themselves."   
"But you love the Fade, why would you create a Veil to hide it all away?" Yennifer asked.  
"Because every alternative was worse," Solas replied, "Had I not created the Veil, the Evanuris would have destroyed the entire world."  
"You said the elven gods went too far," she continued, "What did they do that made you turn against them?"  
"They killed Mythal," he chuckled, "A crime for which an eternity of torment is the only fitting punishment."  
"But I thought Mythal was one of the evanuris..."  
"She was the best of them. She cared for her people. She protected them. She was a voice of reason, and in their lust for power they killed her."  
"The evanuris were elven mages... how did they come to be remembered as gods?"  
"Slowly... It started with a war. War breeds fear. Fear breeds a desire for simplicity. Good and evil. Right and wrong. Chains of command. After the war ended, generals became respected elders, then kings, and finally gods. The evanuris." Solas sounded absolutely disgusted.  
"You banished the false gods... You didn't kill them?"  
He smirked, "You met Mythal, did you not? The first of my people do not die so easily. The evanuris are banished forever, paying the ultimate price for their misdeeds."  
Yennifer nodded, "That's the past though. What about the future?" He turned away then, wandering closer to the eluvian. "I lay in dark and dreaming sleep as countless wars and ages passed," he said, sounding like his mind was somewhere else, "I woke still weak a year before I joined you. My people fell for what I did to strike the evanuris down. But hope still remains for restoration... I will save the elven people, even if this world must die." Yennifer bristled then. What did he mean, this world must die? What was he going to do? "Why does this world have to die for the elves to return?" she asked, more snappy than she had intended. He didn't face her, keeping his back to her so she couldn't see his expression. "A good question, but not one I will answer," he said. She frowned, feeling a slight annoyance rising inside her. "You have always shown a thoughtfulness I respected," he said, "It would be too easy to tell you too much. I am not Corypheus... I take no joy in this. But the return of my people means the end of yours. It is my fight. You should be more concerned about the Inquisition... Your inquisition." He turned to face her now, and when he saw the look of horror on her face, he couldn't make eye contact with her. "In stopping the Dragon's Breath you have prevented an invasion by Qunari forces. With luck, they should return their focus to Tevinter. That should give you a few more years of relative peace." She had lost her need to converse with him now. All she could think about was her daughter, how she'd fought to get here to stop a Qunari invasion, only to be told that the world would be destroyed anyway, and Ashaanti would perish. "The Qunari said I was unknowingly working for agents of Fen'harel..." Solas frowned, "I gave no orders." She crossed her arms, "You led us to Skyhold," she said accusingly. He looked into her eyes then, "Corypheus should have died unlocking my orb," he explained, "When he survived, my plans were thrown into chaos... When you survived, I saw the inquisition as the best hope this world had of stopping him... And you needed a home. Hence, Skyhold."  
"You gave your orb to Corypheus?!" she snapped incredulously.   
"Not directly... My agents allowed the Venatori to locate it. The orb had built up magical energy while I lay unconscious for millenia. I was not powerful enough to unlock it. The plan was for Corypheus to unlock it, and the resulting explosion to kill him. Then I would claim the orb. I did not forsee a Tevinter magister having learned the secret of effective immortality."  
"What would have happened if Corypheus had died, and you'd recovered the orb?" Yennifer asked, not sure if she wanted to hear the answer.  
"I would have entered the Fade using the mark you now bear. Then I would have torn down the Veil. As this world burned in the raw chaos, I would have restored the world of my time, the world of the elves."  
"If you destroyed the Veil, wouldn't the false gods be freed?"  
"I had plans," he replied, a smirk on his lips that deeply offended Yennifer.  
"I never thought of you as someone who would do that, Solas," she whispered, her voice thick and hoarse with sadness.  
"Thank you," he whispered, his voice reflecting her sorrow. "You must understand. I woke in a world where the Veil had blocked most people's conscious connection to the Fade. It was like walking through a world of tranquil."  
"We aren't even people to you?"  
"Not at first. You showed me I was wrong... Again. That does not make what must come next any easier."  
She sighed, rubbing her eyes. She wanted so badly to hate him for what he planned to do. But she couldn't get it out of her head that he had been a pinnacle role in saving Thedas from a horrible threat once before. "Whatever your reasons, we couldn't have defeated Corypheus without you."  
"Your doubts are misplaced," he said, "Everything you accomplished, you earned."  
"And what's wrong with the inquisition?"  
"You created a powerful organisation, and now it suffers the inevitable fate of such: betrayal and corruption."  
"It's not that simple..."  
"Do you know how I discovered the Qunari plot? The plot I disrupted by leading them to your doorstep? The Qunari spies in the inquisition tripped over my spies in the inquisition. The elven guard who led you to the Qunari body? Who intercepted the servant with the gaatlok barrel? Mine."  
"Why bother disrupting the Qunari plot if you're going to destroy the world regardless?" Yennifer snapped angrily.  
"You have shown me that there is value in this world, Yennifer. I take no joy in what I must do. Until that day comes, I would see those recovering from the Breach free of the Qun."  
"But _why?_ "  
"Because I am not a monster! If they must die, I would rather they die in comfort. In any event, it is done."  
"I guess we owe you for that one too..."  
"I hope it gives your people some final peace." He turned to leave then, but Yennifer couldn't let him go yet. "I have a daughter, Solas," she said, her voice wavering, on the verge of tears, "How can I go back to her, not knowing if she'll make adulthood? Whether she will have a life, a career, whether she will love or have a family of her own?" He stopped and turned to her then, sadly replying, "Yes, little Ashaanti. I've seen her in the Fade, I watch over her, keep the nightmare away," he whispered, "I trust you got my letters?" Yennifer frowned. D.W... Dread Wolf. It was Solas who sent the notes, congratulating her on her pregnancy. She nodded, a single fat tear rolling down her cheek. "I will give her as many years as I can," Solas said quietly, not able to look Yennifer in the eye. "There's still the matter of the anchor," she snapped, "It's getting worse." He closed his eyes, pain flashing across his face. "Yes... I'm so sorry. And we are almost out of time," he said. The mark crackled then, the pain searing all the way up to her shoulder now, and she felt a spasm shake her entire arm. She fell to the ground again, no longer having the energy to cry out. Solas had a pained expression on his face still, finding it increasingly difficult to watch his dear friend suffer. He crouched beside her, resting a gentle hand on her shoulder. "The mark will eventually kill you," he explained, "Drawing you here gave me the chance to save you... at least for now." She looked into his eyes, squinting through the pain. "You don't need to destroy this world," she grunted, "I'll prove it to you!" He rose to his feet, looking down at her sadly, "I would treasure the chance to be wrong again, my friend," he whisepered, holding his hand out to her, "Take my hand." She grabbed his hand roughly, but he held hers gently, as though he were holding a delicate glass ornament that could break with the slightest pressure. "I am so sorry," he said, his voice barely audible as he whispered it through gritted teeth. He raised his other hand, clenching his fist, and causing an excruciating agony that made the previous pains pale in comparison to surge through her hand. He composed himself, and turned to walk away. "Live well, while time remains," he said, and he disappeared through the eluvian. She watched him go, unable to form the words to call out to him as he left, her hand feeling as though it were being churned through a meat grinder. She looked at it and gasped. The green light had gone a more sickly hue, and the skin underneath had turned black. What was happening? A panicked sound escaped her throat, and she somehow managed to crawl back to the eluvian she had first come through, a slight relief washing over her when she realised it was open again. She tried to stand, but as soon as she let go of the ground, she tumbled head frist through the mirror, catching a glimpse of Bull charging across the field towards her before everything went black.


	19. Chapter 19

"Inquisition! Nehraa ataashi-asaara meravas adim kata! Hissrad! Now please. Vinek kathas."  
"Understood, ma'am."  
Yennifer spun round to look at him. Her Bull. There was no trace of the man she loved in his face. He had a vacant expression, looking at her as though he had never met her, as though she was just another target to swing his axe at. She shook her head, her eyes pleading with him as her heart broke into a thousand pieces. "Bull..." she whispered. He pulled his axe off his back, a hatred in his eyes that Yennifer had never seen before. "Change of plan," he growled, "Nothing personal, bas." _Bas._ She barely knew any words in Qunari, but she knew what that meant. Thing. All the years she'd spent with him, the love they had shared, the nights they'd spent tangled in each other's bodies... Had he always seen her like this? An enemy? Someone he hated. She instinctually reached for her daggers, and time seemed to slow down around her as he began to move towards her. But she couldn't bring herself to raise her weapons. Her hands hung at her sides as she looked into his eye, full of anger, hatred, disgust. She searched the eye, hoping to find some trace of her love, thinking she might see him there, screaming at her to do something, to move, react, to attack. But she couldn't. She couldn't hurt him, no matter how much he wanted to hurt her. The daggers slipped from her hands, the sound of them dropping to the floor almost deafening. "Yennifer! No! Pick up your weapons, fight him, we need to press on, please!" came Dorian's scream from across the chamber. It didn't sound like him though, the voice deep and slow, sounding as though it was miles away. She watched in despair as Bull lifted the axe, holding it up behind his head, preparing for the swing. She made herself to much of an easy target. Her feet rooted to the ground, the expression on her face pathetic, frightened, confused and horrified. She closed her eyes then, not wanting to see him kill her. And she didn't. But she felt the pressure - no pain - but the immense power and the loud _thwack_ as the axe connected with her skull, and she felt her body hit the ground. She wasn't dead, she couldn't see, but she could hear, and that was the worst part. The atmosphere came back to it's proper speed again, and she listened helplessly to Dorian and Sera's grunts of exertion as they fought to survive. Everything in Yennifer's body screamed at her to get up, but she couldn't move. She could feel the pool of hot blood spreading around her slowly, and wondered how long her ears would be tortured with the sound of her friends being tortured. She heard a whimper of pain from Dorian, the thud of him falling to his knees, and then a scream of agony followed by several cracks and crunches of bone, a strangled gasp, and then nothing. "Dorian!" came Sera's terrified cry. She heard footsteps, and realised they were fast, desperate, Sera was trying to run away. She heard the whistle of a spear being thrown and heard the wet crunch as it met it's mark, followed by a cry of pain. Another spear was thrown, and another, and there was the whack of a body hitting a door, the sound of it sliding down the wood, coming to rest on the floor. Then silence. The sound of voices speaking in Qunlat that Yennifer couldn't understand, but she could hear Bull's voice. She didn't know what he was saying, but she could hear the pride and amusement in his voice. Suddenly her eyes flickered open, but she was no longer on the ground, she was in the air, looking down at the scene. She saw her own body laid there, and watched in horror as Bull aimed his axe over her marked hand, bringing it down in a swift chop to remove the hand from her body, dropping it into a bag at his waist. The most troubling thing Yennifer's eyes were assaulted with was the other two bodies laid on the floor. She came to Dorian first. His face was almost unrecognizable, his nose pouring with blood where they had struck his face, his head facing the wrong way, and his limbs were all cracked and broken, misshapen and twisted. His staff had been snapped in two where they had cracked it over his head. Then she saw Sera, propped up by the spear through her back. On the floor beneath her head was a small pile of teeth, where they had been broken out by the spear that had crashed through the back of her skull, the blade pointing out from between her lips, and another was impaled through her shoulder. Everything went black.  
When Yennifer's eyes opened again, she was looking down upon the courtyard of the Winter Palace. A large cross had been erected, and Cassandra was crucified on it, blood soaking her Divine robes, the Divine hat laid on the ground at the base of the cross where it had fallen off when her head had lolled to the side lifelessly. Yennifer searched the area, looking for the others, and her eyes fell upon Josephine, who was clutching Ashaanti protectively to her chest, Leliana had her arms wrapped around them both, her eyes full of fury as a group of Ben-Hassrath agents approached. "Stay away!" Josephine cried out, "You stay away! The Inquisitor and The Iron Bull will be back soon, if they catch you bringing harm to this child you will be sorry!" The ambassadors voice was thick with fear as one of the Qunari walked forward, grabbing at her hands to try and wrestle the child from her grasp. Josephine tried to pull away, and the Qunari swung his arm, striking her face with the back of his hand. Leliana growled in feral fury, jumping forward to slice at him with her dagger, only to be cut down by a spear through her chest. "No!" Josephine screamed as she watched her friend sink lifelessly to the ground. She staggered back, crouching to the ground and holding Ashaanti so tightly it must have been painful. The little girl clung to Josephine's clothes desperately. "Stop this, now!" came Cullen's furious shout as he ran forward to put himself between Josephine and the Qunari. He reached his hand down to draw his sword, but the Qunari was quicker, drawing his own greatsword and removing Cullen's head from his body in one swing. Josephine closed her eyes, waiting for her own turn. But the Qunari turned then, calling out to one of his comrades. "Hissrad!" he barked, and Bull emerged from the crowd of attacking Qunari. But he wasn't The Iron Bull now. He was Hissrad. He had removed his eye patch, and teamed with his evil expression, he looked truly terrifying. His body was covered in vitaar, drawn on in red paint. He marched forward to Josephine, who opened her eyes and gasped in shock when she realised who it was. He reached into the bag on his waist and pulled out Yennifer's marked hand, dropping it on the ground for everyone to see. A collective gasp rang out across the courtyard, and Krem came running forward. "Chief!" he cried, "What have you done?! What have you done?! Why have you joined them?" Bull looked at his old friend with a look of annoyance. "Because it's right," he replied, and he reached down to snatch Ashaanti from Josephine. Her strength was no match for his and she cried in despair as the child was taken from her. "I am so sorry, Yennifer, my friend," the ambassador cried, looking at the hand on the ground with a disturbed expression. Krem was not finished with Bull, and he ran forward to grab him by the shoulder, pulling him round to face him. "Why? Why, after all these years, after everything, why did you do this? What do you get from this?!" But Bull wasn't in the mood for talk. He shoved Krem away from him, so hard that he fell to the ground. Krem watched in despair as his chief, the man who had saved his life all those years ago, walked away from him forever, carrying the screaming, terrified child in his arms. Yennifer wanted desperately to scream out to him, to beg him to leave Ashaanti behind, to stop frightening her. The thought of her daughter growing up under the constraints of the Qun was something she couldn't bear. She looked across to the rest of the companions who remained. Varric was standing at the bottom of the cross, staring up at Cassandra with a look of horror on his face, tears streaming from his eyes, begging for someone to cut her down because she deserved better than this. Thom was drawing his sword, ready to follow the retreating force, Vivienne, Yennifer only just realised, was with the Qunari, her body beaten and bruised, a visor over her face and her arms chained to her neck. They had taken her, forced her into submission, recruiting her as a saarebas. Cole was no where to be seen, but she knew he would be somewhere in the area, the sound of everyone's pain, sadness and fear tormenting him. Cullen's mabari had ran over to the Commander's decapitated body, laid down beside it and whimpered softly. The chargers had come to huddle around Krem, and they all cried softly, feeling utterly betrayed and terrified. Yennifer watched in despair as one of the Ben-Hassrath agents aimed a flaming arrow at a huge pile of gaatlok barrels, a trail of more barrels leading up to the Winter Palace, where the barrels were surrounding the building in alarming numbers. Yennifer knew what came next, and she scrunched her eyes closed tightly, awaiting the inevitable explosion. The sound was deafening, the whoosh of fire licking at her body and the sound of screams and cries and people running, bodies burning and falling to the ground. She heard the destruction as the palace crumbled to rubble on the ground. Everything went black.  
When her eyes opened again, she was back in her body, somehow. She was laid on the ground, surrounded by bodies and the remains of the Winter Palace. She tried to lift herself to sit up, but her body was weak, broken, destroyed. She blinked, her eyes stinging from the smoke that pushed against her face. A tall, dark figure was coming towards her, and she waited as he got closer. _Hissrad._ He didn't have Ashaanti with him, and Yennifer's mind raced as she wondered where she was. Was she crying? Was she afraid? Yennifer had gone all that way in an attempt to save her baby girl and it was all in vain. Bull had been planning to destroy everything all along, it seemed. Her mind raced back to when she'd first met Bull. When she'd looked upon him almost as a threat. She'd never seen a Qunari before, and she was almost afraid of him, but he had kicked down the walls of her fear with ease as she got to know him, his charm, his kindness, his need to make people feel comfortable. She remembered the day he'd propositioned her, told her that she needed it, that he knew what she required. She been excited, caught up in the flurry of giddiness as he'd picked her up and a pinned her to the bed with his weight, making her feel things she'd never felt before. She'd gone back to him again and again, and soon they were in too deep, their feelings changing from simple friendship, friends with a causal arrangement, to love. A love so deep and profound it was as though their minds were one. As thought they were made for each other. They had explored the plains of one another's bodies so many times that they knew their lover's body better than they knew their own. And now, as she looked up at him, towering over her with his boot poised over her head, ready to stamp her out, she couldn't recognise the man. She looked at him and saw a stranger. She let her head fall to the floor, accepting her fate. He braced himself for the stamp, but was distracted as a huge, black shape leaped between them. It was ginormous, covered in black fur and it snarled and growled viciously. It pushed Bull back, baring its teeth and snapping its jaws wickedly. Yennifer watched wide eyed as Bull decided it was futile trying to fight this beast, and he turned and fled, the creature following him, making sure he was definitely gone. When it returned, Yennifer stared into the face of the creature, frowning as she made out the features. It was a wolf, the biggest wolf she'd ever seen. It had many eyes staring back at her, and they weren't the eyes of a normal wolf. There was something almost kind about them, understanding, loving, like the eyes of a friend. It walked closer and closer to her, and she reached out her only hand to gently touch it's face. The fur was soft but cold, and she gasped as it opened it's mouth and gently took her wrist in between its teeth, holding her as softly as it would hold a delicate flower it didn't want to damage. It gently pulled her up to her feet, and she fell backwards, the wolf supporting her now with its forehead as it pushed her towards a strange hole in the ground, not unlike the rifts she had spent so much time closing. When she looked down into the hole, she was herself. She was laid in a bed, sleeping, her face twitching and twisting as though she were having a bad dream. Bull was sitting beside her, his hand gently stroking her hair. Suddenly she realised she was no longer being supported, and she turned to see the wolf was gone, but somewhere far in the distance, she saw a man walking away from her. He was bald, with the pointed ears of an elf, and she reached her hand across the expanse toward him. He must have sensed the gesture, for her turned to face her, a small, kind, sad smile on his face. He reached his hand out to her, and she felt a gentle force pushing her back, and she closed her eyes as she fell slowly through the rift, catching the sight of the man morphing back into the huge wolf and bounding away before everything went black.


	20. Chapter 20

Her eyes flickered open to see the white ceiling of the hospital wing. She looked at her surroundings, her eyes taking some time to adjust to the bright light streaming through the window. Her gaze fell upon the figure sitting in a seat at the other side of the room, eyes closed and snoring softly. Bull. She stared at him, trying to discern whether it was him or if it was the cruel Hissrad. She tried to get up, but when she moved her arms to push herself up, she realised something was wrong. She couldn't feel her left hand. When she had first had the mark placed upon her hand, she'd been driven almost to the point of insanity by the soft buzzing she felt under the skin, caused by the magic surging through it. After a while, the sensation had become a part of her, and she had gotten used to it, that is until recently, when the mark had been affected by old elven magic, causing it to snap and crackle and explode and become unruly. The pain had been unbearable. But she remembered seeing Solas, she remembered him doing something to fix it, so she expected that the soft buzzing would be back. But now she tried to focus on it, she realised it wasn't there anymore. She grunted quielty as she pushed herself up on her right arm, pulling her left arm out from under the covers she was tightly tucked under... and her heart skipped a beat. Her hand was gone. Her arm stopped just below the elbow, and there was nothing else there. It was wrapped in a bandage, the stump tightly swaddled in layers and layers of white bandages. Tears sprang to her eyes as she stared at the monstrosity. She felt violated. She thought back to the horrors she'd just woken up from. If Hissrad had really cut her hand off, why was he here. "You!" she cried out across the room at him. He jumped up, a look of shock on his face that quickly turned to relief. "Kadan!" he shouted, jumping out of the seat to run across to her. "Don't 'Kadan' me, get away!" she screamed, "Where's my daughter? Where did they take her?!" He looked horrified, stepping away from her carefully "Yennifer, it's me... Ashaanti is with Josephine and Leliana, she's just downstairs..." His voice was quiet, confused and gentle. The door flew open and a group of nurses came rushing in to see what the commotion was. "Get him away from me!" Yennifer screamed, "He killed them, he killed Sera and he killed Dorian!" She heard her voice coming out in strangled sobs now as she thought about the broken bodies of her best friends lying on the floor of that chamber. "What are you talking about?!" Bull cried, tears lining his eyes, "Yennifer, please, listen to me, you've been through a lot, let me explain..."   
"Explain what?! You betrayed us, you betrayed us all! What did you do to me? You mutilated me!" She could feel her heart beating faster and faster, and her breaths were coming out quick and shallow. One of the nurses, a mage healer, approached her carefully, laying a gentle hand on her forehead and easing her into a dreamless sleep.  
When she woke up again, she saw Dorian sitting beside the bed. "Am I dead?" she whispered, "Am I dead, like you?" Dorian shook his head sadly. "I'm not dead, Yennifer," he whispered, "Neither is Sera. No one is dead, you had a nightmare, it was all a vision. Bull carried you back here, you have trust him, he's devastated by your outburst." Yennifer stared at him. She so desperately needed Bull, she needed his arms to hold her and make her feel safe, but her mind was full of the images of him swinging that axe at her. "What happened?" she asked, her voice hoarse, "My... my arm?" Dorian winced, sighing deeply before explaining that Solas must have put a spell on her hand, the only spell he could think of to free her from the pain and the suffering. It had caused her hand to literally die, and the infection had begun to spread higher and higher, her skin beginning to blacken and turn bad. Bull had carried her all the way back to the Winter Palace, where they'd had no option than to amputate it. "You're out of danger now though," Dorian whispered, "You survived. We all thought you weren't going to make it, you were out for days. We knew you were seeing something frightening, you kept having seizures and crying in your sleep. It was horrible to watch. What did you see?" She turned away from him then. She couldn't answer. She refused to think about it. "I can't, Dorian," she whispered, "I just... What I saw, it was too much, please don't ask me to tell you. Don't ask ever again." Dorian felt his heart break slightly. It killed him that there was no way he could comfort her or make her forget what she'd seen. "Cole could..." he started, but she cut him off. "No," she snapped, "I won't ask him to look at my thoughts, no one should see what I saw and I won't put that on him. I'll deal with it in my own way." Dorian nodded gently. "Bull..." he whispered, "He's outside... He wants to see you. Before I go though, let me tell you, I know you saw horrible things, something about him. I don't know what exactly, but you must know, he fought for you to keep your arm. Said he knows what it's like to lose a part of you. Said he's never felt truly the same since he lost the eye, and he didn't want you to have to live like that. He knocked out two of the healers who came to cut it off. He... cried when they finally removed it. Said he couldn't bear the thought of you realising it was gone. And when you woke up and he saw how afraid of him you were... I've never seen him like this." Dorian left then, leaving Yennifer laid there in the bed, tears streaming down her face as she cried quietly. Her poor Bull. It wasn't fair for her to be afraid of him. Yes she'd seen him do terrible things in her vision, but she couldn't hold him to things he'd done in a made up vision. She craved his presence now, she needed to feel his warmth, needed him there, just to be there.   
The door slowly opened, and he appeared slowly, first a horn, then a huge shoulder, then his eye. He peeked in at her, and she looked back, trying to hold his gaze without crying, but her resistance was futile. First she whimpered, then her body jerked forward as she burst into tears, loud and ugly sobs escaping her broken body. She gasped and choked on the sobs, her eyes burning with the hot tears pouring out of them. He was there beside her as quickly as his legs would carry him, laying down on the bed beside her and pulling her onto his chest. He clutched her to his body tightly, and she clung to him with her hand. She felt his body shuddering beneath her, and he gave in to a gasp of emotion, letting his own sobs escape his chest. They stayed like that for over an hour, holding each other and crying. When she had finally cried herself out, she pushed herself up so she could look into his face. His perfect face that she loved so much. "I am so sorry, my love," she whispered, stroking his cheek gently, "I was so foolish." He shook his head, his expression almost angry. "You have nothing to apologise for," he replied, his hand stroking her back gently. She lifted the stump of her arm so she could look at it. "What a fucking nightmare," she whispered, shaking her head. "We're quite the pair," she continued, turning to look at him. "Between us we've got three eyes, three arms, eighteen fingers and a fucked up leg." He looked at her and she looked at him. They both cracked up into fits of tearful laughter, and she rested her head on his chest. "We're such bad people!" she cried, "How can we laugh at this?!" Bull grabbed her face, lifting her up again to look at her. "We can laugh because we're alive," he whispered, resting his forehead against hers, "You may be damaged goods now, but you're _my_ damaged goods." She snorted, shaking her head, "Damaged goods? Gee, thanks Bull." He smiled her favourite crooked smile and planted a gentle kiss on her lips. He broke away, but she wasn't finished. She crushed her lips back on his, kissing him hard, passionate, bruising. He parted his lips, allowing her tongue entry, and a soft groan rumbled from his throat as he tasted her, their tongues fighting for dominance. Her breathing became labored with desire, and she bucked her hips into him, her arousal pooling between her legs, she was wet and desperate for him almost immediately. He rolled over, laying her on her back and carefully positioning himself between her legs, pushing his hips into hers, pressing his hardening length into her. She moaned, her left arm reaching up to stroke his arm, but she stopped, breaking the kiss and staring up at him with a horrified expression as her stump touched him. "It's alright, it'll take some getting used to," Bull whispered, and before she could voice her concerns, his mouth was on hers again. She was desperate for him, desperate to feel him inside her. It had been so long since they'd slept together and she needed him now more than ever. He carefully peeled the brown hospital tunic from her slick, sweaty body, revealing her naked body beneath. He sat back to look at her, his eyes surveying every inch of her body. She was covered in new scars and bruises, and his eyes lingered over the dark, angry knife wound she'd got in the deep roads. It had already begun to heal thanks to the healers and their magic, but it still looked bad, dark purple, the veins around it visible. He looked at the slice above her eyebrow that she'd got in the last fight, the bruises along her rib cage, and finally his eyes rested on her arm, or what was left of it. He winced, horrified that she had to lose the arm, that she had to live the rest of her life hindered because of it. He'd been horrified when she'd gone through the eluvian and he couldn't follow. When he'd learned that Solas had done this to her arm, he wished he could have gone through with her. He would have shown that fucking elf the meaning of pain. He had done this to her. He'd been the reason she had to live with the mark, the reason she'd been targeted by a dangerous darkspawn magister. The reason for the unbearable pain she'd suffered, and now the reason she'd lost her arm. "Bull," came Yennifer's gentle voice, her hand reaching up to stroke his belly gently. He looked into her eyes, full of love for him, but he couldn't mirror it. His were full of sadness for her loss. She sat up, kneeling before him and grabbing him by a horn, "I need you to know," she whispered, "I would go through it all again. I'd go through the explosion, the red templars, the venatori, Corypheus... I'd go through the pain, the horrors and the suffering... I'd go through it a thousand times over, because the thought of living a normal life, a boring life, a life where our paths would never cross... It's unbearable to think about. Losing my arm is more preferable to not having you." He stared at her, and felt a sob rising in his chest. He had never had anyone feel this way about him, and he wasn't sure how to respond. She would go through all that pain and suffering again, just for him? He thought about it, and in some ways he agreed with her. As much as he hated that she'd suffered so much, if she hadn't been the Herald of Andraste, if she hadn't been at the conclave that day, they would never have met, they'd have never fallen in love, or had their daughter. The Breach had cost so much but he owed so much happiness to it, as strange as that sounded. He felt Yennifer's hand at the laces of his breeches then, using her one hand to undo them. He looked at her and smiled. "I know we had a bit of a moment, but I'm not finished with you, mister," she said, laughing quietly. Once she was done with the laces he pushed her back down onto the bed gently, and she waited patiently as he pulled the breeches off and positioned himself between her legs. She gasped in anticipation as he placed himself at her opening, the tip of his length poised to enter. He pushed into her slowly, and they both gave a sigh of almost relief at the feeling of being joined again after the past few days of thinking this would never happen again. He felt perfect inside her, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her, wincing slightly as he carefully placed his full weight on her. Once she would have protested at this, but since getting used to him, she could think of nothing more than the safety and the comfort that came with having him on top of her. Her legs wrapped around his waist as he thust into her, slow and unhurried, their breathing keeping pace with one another, slow and deep. She raked her fingernails down his back, and the stump of her arm felt strange, a new sensation as she felt the scars on his back through the bandage. He took the skin of her neck between his lips, sucking gently and leaving behind a small, purple love bite. "You're such a dick," she whispered, moaning suddenly as he thrust into her harder, laughing into her ear. He felt she was getting close when her back began to arch and her breaths came faster, each one peppered with soft mewls and her walls suddenly tightened around him. "Damn, Kadan," he hissed as she constricted, bringing him closer as well. He sped up then, giving it to her hard and fast, and they both came together, the pressure building behind their navels snapping like a bow string pulled too tight. The bed was too small for them to lay flat side by side, so she turned on to her side so he could cuddle up behind her, their bodies close, hot, sweat slick, laying quietly as their ragged breathing returned to normal. He wrapped his huge arm around her, pulling her close, and she pressed her face into the crook of his elbow, inhaling his smell, the smell of comfort, the smell that made her feel like she was home no matter where in the world she was. He kissed the top of her head and smiled, a little growl of contentment rumbling in his throat as he noticed her breathing had slowed down so much that she must have fallen asleep in his arms. A single tear rolled out of his eye and he took a deep shaky breath, making a silent prayer to whoever the fuck was listening, to never take her away from him, to never put her through anything that would cause her to look at him the way she did that morning, when she had been terrified and full of hate. And he also thanked whoever was listening, for bringing her to the Storm Coast that day. Outside the room, a Do Not Disturb sign had been placed on the door. A nurse had come to check on Yennifer, and had second thoughts when she heard the soft sighs and moans on the other side. There was a strict rule that no funny business was permitted in the hospital rooms, but the nurse felt it would be a far too cruel to make them stop. The pair of them had experienced enough of life's cruelty for now, they deserved a few moments of pleasure. She placed the sign on the door, and walked away with a smile, a thought of gratitude sent to the Maker for allowing those two souls to be together and happy again.


	21. Chapter 21

She stared at the pile of clothes on the chair, daunted by the task of putting them on one handed. She was finally being discharged from the hospital wing, a week after waking up. Her bandages had been removed, revealing the alien, smooth stump, her arm ending just beneath the elbow. It felt strange to bend her elbow and only have the tiny few inches of her forearm move. Sometimes she swore she could feel the wrist, the four fingers and the thumb that had once been there. Once or twice she'd felt a weird twinge that was reminiscent of the pain she'd felt in the recent days, just before she'd lost the hand. A phantom hand, the healers had explained to her, something she would eventually lose, but until she became accustomed to being an amputee, she would feel the sensation of a hand still being there. She pulled on her leggings first, stumbling and teetering on her feet a few times, coming dangerously close to falling on her arse when she reached out with her left arm to grab the wall, and realising just in time that she could grab anything. Once she'd managed to get her feet in the legs, she then had the task of pulling the leggings up, and that was a different challenge entirely. She tried pulling one side up, then letting go and grabbing the other side to pull up, but when she let go of one side, it slid back down again. After this happened a few times, she stopped, closing her eyes and slapping her right hand to her forehead, taking a long, deep breath and counting to ten. When she tried again, she managed to get one side pulled up to her knee, then pushed her knees out to the side, wide enough so that the waist band was taut and stayed in place while she pulled the other side up, and she finally managed to get them pulled up to her waist. She stepped into her boots, happy for an easy task, and then pulled her shirt over her head, her right arm slipped into it's own sleeve, and then pulling the left sleeve over her other arm carefully. She spent a good 10-15 minutes tucking the shirt into her waistband, and it took her even longer to tie the sash around her waist after she'd gotten the formal jacket on. She looked in the mirror, sighing as she contemplated her next challenge - rolling up her left sleeve and pinning it in place. This was another task that took her longer than necessary, and she gritted her teeth, desperate to hit something as she struggled to get the sleeve to roll up neatly, and to get the pins to go in right. It was a nightmare trying to do all this without another hand to hold the sleeve steady, When she was finally dressed, she sat down at the dressing table and picked up the hairbrush, pulling it through her long, dark hair gently, wincing when she came across a knot. Once it was done, she took a deep breath before reaching back to try and pull it into a ponytail, eyes fixed on the hair tie on the table in front of her. After almost an hour of struggling, an hour of trying to refuse to admit defeat, she started finding it hard to concentrate with the tears welling up in her eyes. She grabbed the brush and threw it across the room, a scream of fury escaping her. She buried her face in her hand, feeling like a pathetic fool. Fuck this, she thought, fuck everything. She had been devastated when she found out she'd lost her arm, but she hadn't realised just how much she'd lost until she tried to live her life again. She couldn't eat her food properly, having to either struggle to cut her food up, using her knife and making a mess because she couldn't use a fork to hold the food steady, or having to admit defeat and ask someone else to cut it up for her. She couldn't shake hands with her left hand anymore, which was the hand she'd always used. She'd had visitors come to see her as she'd recovered, people wanting to thank her for what she'd done. Although there hadn't been many, she had been taken aback by the amount that were sympathetic to her. As they'd come in and asked to shake her hand, she'd instinctually reached out with her left hand, feeling embarrassed and mortified when she noticed there was no hand there for them to shake. But the thing that bothered her the most was her inability to hold her daughter anymore. Bull had brought Ashaanti up to see her, and she'd almost collapsed with relief at being reunited with her baby. She had jumped up, reaching out to hold her and when Bull held her out, she had wrapped her right arm around her, taking her full weight but gasping, whimpering in fear as she realised Ashaanti was too heavy, and her left arm was no longer long enough to reach around and offer support, so Ashaanti had slid straight out of her arm, and Bull caught her just in time. Yennifer broke down, cursing Solas then for taking the pleasure of holding her own child away from her. Now when she wanted to hold Ashaanti, she'd had to sit down and balance her on her lap. She could no longer pick her up and cuddle her, or lay on the floor and hold her above her while she pretended to be a flying dragon. "But you're alive, Kadan," Bull would constantly remind her when she started to get angry or upset. She knew he meant well, and she knew that he wasn't saying it for any reason other than to remind her and remind himself that they were together and she was here when none of the odds had been in her favour, but she couldn't help but feel a little pissed off when he said that to her. Yes, she was alive, but she had lost a huge chunk of her independence, she had lost her ability to fight in battle, her ability to eat like an adult, to wash herself quickly and easily, to hold her daughter... "Can I help?" came a quiet voice from the door. She turned around, quickly dashing the tears from her face as her eyes met Cole's. She nodded silently, and watched as he picked up the hair brush and walked over to stand behind her, his gentle fingers pulling her hair back, combing through it and twisting it into a long braid that came over her shoulder. "Sad, scared, sorry, she thinks mama won't want her anymore, I'm a failure, a bad mother. And him. He pities me, like a wounded animal..." Cole whispered, his eyes fixed on his own reflection in the mirror, "Ashaanti is only young but she understands, she knows you love her, she knows that you hurt and she loves you... The Iron Bull doesn't pity you. He loves you. When he looks at you he sees strength, he sees what he wants to be. 'She is what gets me up in the morning.' He thinks he'd cut off his own arm if there was a way he could give it to you." A gentle hand, the touch so feather light that she had to look to see it was there, rested on her shoulder. She reached up and patted it gently. "Thank you, Cole," she whispered. He nodded and turned to leave, but before he left he whispered, "Thank you." Yennifer turned to look at him, frowning, "What for, Cole?" He turned back to look at her. "You have a lot of hurt in your mind, I could have helped, made you forget, but Dorian told me you didn't want me to take it from you, that you didn't want me to feel your pain... Thank you, for suffering so I didn't have to feel it. I am glad I stayed."   
"Something must be done! We cannot lose the Inquisition now, we stand on the brink of war with the Qunari!"  
"Yes, because this 'Solas' provoked them in the first place!"  
"The Inquisition did not cause this threat. We informed the summit of the danger - "  
"The danger caused by Qunari spies inside _your_ organisation!"  
"Without _our_ organisation you would not be here to complain."  
Yennifer stormed up the corridor to the conference room where the Exalted Council had been forced to start without her. She fumed as she heard the voices, Josephine and Cassandra fighting to defend the Inquisition. The guards at the door pushed it open for her, and everyone turned to stare as she walked in. _Go ahead,_ she wanted to shout at all the ogling faces, _Get a good look, draw a picture if you like, yes my arm is gone._ But she ignored them all, marching up to stand by Josephine's side, the book she'd been given back in Haven, the one Cassandra had shown her when she'd proposed the Inquisition to her, clutched in her right hand. Arl Teagan sighed and shook his head. "No one has forgotten what you have done," he said, sounding reluctant to give even this small compliment to the inquisition, "But Corypheus has been dead for years!" Duke Cyril nodded and leaned forward to speak. "If the Inquisition is to continue, it must do so as a legitimate organisation, not a glorified mercenary band," he said. Yennifer looked at them all, eyeing Teagan, then Cyril, then her eyes fell on Cassandra. She knew what must be done. "You all know what this is?" Yennifer asked, addressing the entire room as she held the book up for them all to see, "A writ from Divine Justinia authorising the formation of the Inquisition. We pledge to close the Breach, find those responsible and restore order. With or without anyone's approval." Cassandra smiled and nodded, remembering that these were the same words she had said all those years ago when Chancellor Roderik had opposed to the idea. "I'm proud to say we accomplished that goal," Yennifer continued, "We will honor the sacrifices of those who gave their lives in defense of what we stood for... and still stand for. Because our work is not done. Where we led in war, we will now serve in peace. The Inquisition will act as Divine Victoria's personal honor guard. Answering directly to her, we will transition from a military force into a peacekeeping organisation," she looked down at her empty sleeve and sighed, "My own adventuring days may be done, but the Inquisition, and it's mission, will continue." She turned and walked out, not waiting for anyone's approval, or lack thereof, and went to meet with her friends before they all left to go their separate ways.  
She found her friends waiting for her out in the courtyard, looking out across Orlais in the valley beneath the hill the Winter Palace stood on. They were all here, all alive and all smiling, and Yennifer felt her heart swell knowing they'd all survived the horrors of the past few days. They all turned to look at her as she approached, smiling with a pride they always had when they looked at her, a pride she'd never gotten used to, that she'd never felt she deserved. They all stood together, looking up at the sky, admiring the scar the Breach had left. As awful as the Breach had been, it was a beautiful sight to see the gentle green light flickering through the clouds, a pretty reminder of the trials they'd all struggled with. Yennifer looked around at her friends, each of them looking back at her as they shared glances, these people who had become her new family, with whom she could say so much without uttering a word. The corners of her mouth started to quiver slightly and she struggled to stop the tears from falling from her eyes as it dawned on her that they were all going to be going their separate ways now. The Inquisition was still intact, but everyone was leaving. Dorian was going back to Tevinter, to take his place in the Magisterium, Vivienne was leaving to work towards restoring the Circle and Varric would be heading off to Kirkwall to continue with his new position as Viscount. Cassandra would be heading back to the Grand Cathedral as Divine Victoria, Thom had revealed his plans to travel the country to help people who had lost track of who they were and Cole had expressed his wishes to return to the Fade. Yennifer was relieved that Sera at least would be around more often than not. They would be going out to take up Red Jenny missions together, but Yennifer had decided that she would be doing less than she originally wanted to, what with her new disability, and her goal to be a more hands on mother. But she had told Sera she would always have a home at Skyhold, should she want it, as did all her friends. Her advisors however, would be around almost constantly, taking up permanent residence at Skyhold. And then there was Bull. Her big, beautiful Bull. She hadn't seen everyone leave, but when she felt him at her side and turned to look up at him, she smiled the biggest smile she'd had on her face in a long time. She reached her hand up and rested in gently on his cheek, guiding his face down to hers so she could kiss him. He wrapped his arms around her waist, lifting her feet off the floor and holding her against his chest. They stayed like that, kissing passionately for all to see, right there in the grounds of the Winter Palace, not in the slightest bit aware of the looks they attracted. Looks of shock, of distaste, looks from people who wanted nothing more than to live their romantic life through the odd pairing. Him with his horns, his one eye and his enormous figure. Her with her one arm and slim frame. To Yennifer and Bull, everything just melted away around them, and all that mattered was that they were alive, their daughter was alive, and they lived to see another day.


End file.
